True Love is Never Easy
by 2ReflectionsInto1
Summary: Julia Chang intends to win the King of the Iron Fist Tournament at all costs, and will let nothing distract her. Tell that to Jin Kazama. He has own agenda and has his sights fixed on Julia. Will she follow her dreams or her heart?
1. Chapter 1: The Eagle Has Landed

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. (Author's note: Who wouldn't want to own Jin Kazama? 'Nuff said.) Namco owns Tekken and its characters. The following story is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 1- The Eagle Has Landed**

_"I am ready for this. I am ready for this. I am SO ready for this."_ thought a young American woman as she walked out of the airplane's gate.

Her name was Julia Chang, and she looked around to survey her surroundings. The airport in Tokyo, Japan was a busy place. People were literally everywhere, but every man that she passed did a double-take to look at her. Julia was strikingly beautiful. She had her long brown hair in gorgeous curls waving to the middle of her back. Her bright hazel eyes looked green underneath her long lashes. She had olive skin and pink full lips. She was wearing a emerald green halter top that exposed her shoulders, stomach, and her ample cleavage. She also had on some blue jean short shorts that made her legs look like they went on for miles. To top it all off, she wore her favorite accessories to let people know that she was from the States. She wore a brown cowboy hat, a jeweled Eagle belt buckle, and her favorite brown cowboy boots. She looked like a walking advertisement for the the great state of Arizona. Julia walked up to a map on the wall. She quickly scanned it for Gate B. She located it on the map, and proceeded to walk in the direction where a limo was waiting to pick her up and bring her to the hotel that she would be staying at.

Julia was in Tokyo for only one reason: the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. She was here to compete and win at all costs. She would not let anything distract her. Julia was naturally a stubborn and headstrong person. She didn't like to give up on anything, and above all, she hated to lose.

_"Your pride will be your downfall."_ Michelle had always told her. Being young and prideful made Julia think that she was invincible, but she never realized that it also had made her vulnerable. So she left her home in Arizona, and was now here in Tokyo. All fighters of the King of the Iron Fist Tournament were treated to a limo picking them up from the airport and a stay at an exclusive hotel and resort for as long as they were in the tournament.

_"Pretty sweet deal."_ thought Julia as walked out to the pick-up area. She suddenly spotted a man holding a sign that read 'J. Chang.' He was standing next to a nice stretch limo. Julia sauntered over to the man, and she saw that he had a open month and a ogling look on his face. He stared at Julia, taking in her long legs, exposed midriff, and her bouncing cleavage.

"Hey there. I'm Julia Chang." Julia purred while showing an I.D. to prove who she was.

"H-Hello, M-Ms. Chang. Please h-have a s-seat in the l-limo." the driver stuttered in a shaky voice.

"Sure thing." said Julia flashing the driver a heartbreaking smile.

The driver seemed momentarily stunned, and he proceeded to trip over Julia's luggage as he was loading it into the trunk of the limo. Julia giggled to herself. She knew the effect that she had on men, and she found it amusing. Men were always tripping all over themselves when she was around. But beneath that confidence was a very timid girl. Julia was only confident around men because she had never met anyone that had captured her interest. Actually, Julia had never been with anyone. She had never had a boyfriend in her life. The only guys close to her had only been friends. She even had never been kissed. You might be asking why. The reason was that she was always too busy training, going to school, helping out her mother, or saving the environment. She was a very goal-oriented person, and she let nothing or no one distract her. Little did she know, that was all about to change.

Author's Note: This is my very first fan fic! I'm a longtime reader of fan fiction, but I have never written anything myself. I finally decided to get in on the fun. Let me know what you think! Next chapter PREVIEW: Julia arrives at the hotel and drama follows.

XOXO,

Nina


	2. Chapter 2: Best Friends and Bikinis

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns Tekken and its characters. The following story is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 2- Best Friends and Bikinis**

Julia searched in her messenger bag for her cell phone. She promised her friend, Ling Xiaoyu that she would call her as soon as she was en route to the hotel. After searching for a few minutes in her seemingly bottomless bag, her fingers finally touched the phone. She pulled it out of her bag and activated the touch screen. She dialed Xiaoyu and put the phone to her ear. Xiaoyu answered on the second ring.

"Julia! Where are you? Are you coming to the hotel yet? How was your flight?" the questions seemed to burst out of Xiaoyu all at once. Julia smiled to herself. _'Impatient, lovable Xiaoyu.' _thought Julia.

"I just stepped into the limo. The driver just finished loading my luggage into the trunk." responded Julia.

"Oh, Julia! I'm so happy that you are finally here in Tokyo. It's been forever since I've seen you." said Xiaoyu with an audible pout in her voice.

"I know, I can't wait to get to the hotel to relax after that long flight." Julia sighed.

"Well, how about relaxing with me by the pool and cabana when you get here?" asked Xiaoyu expectantly.

"That sounds great, Xiao. But, I didn't bring a swimsuit." Julia answered honestly.

"That's okay. I picked up an extra one for you at the mall." said Xiaoyu with a giggle.

"Xiao, it's not too revealing is it?" Julia asked suspiciously. Julia and Xiaoyu both had different opinions on what was appropriate and what was not.

"Well, I think it will look hot on you! I got you a beautiful teal and metallic bronze bikini. It has beaded metal clasps to hold everything together. You'll look so gorgeous in it! I even bought you some bronze heels to strut around the pool!" Xiaoyu said in an excited rush. Julia just shook her head and peeked out the limo's window. They were approaching the hotel at this very moment.

"Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift, Xiao. My limo is driving up to the hotel right now." Julia said while gathering her messenger bag.

"Oh! Okay, I will go down to meet you!" Xiaoyu said excitedly as she hung up the phone.

Julia looked up at the tall, elegant building. It was immense.

"Very subtle." said Julia as she admired the grand hotel.

The driver opened her door for her and said, "Here we are Ms. Chang." trying not to make eye contact with her.

"Thanks sweetie." said Julia in her most charming voice. The driver looked down at her and swallowed.

"Um, I'll g-get your b-bags." the driver said as he tripped over his own feet. Julia suppressed her laughter, and helped him up.

"No, that's okay. I've got it from here." Julia said smoothly as she slid a tip into his jacket pocket.

The driver thanked her, and Julia started wheeling her bags up to the front desk.

"Hello, I'm Julia Chang, checking in." she said to the receptionist.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Chang. Here is your room key and let me get someone to take your bags up for you." the receptionist replied politely.

"JUUUULLLLLIIIIIAAAAA!" shrieked a high pitched voice. Julia didn't have to turn around to know that it was Xiaoyu running towards her. The petite Chinese girl embraced Julia.

"I missed you too, Xiaoyu!" said Julia with elation. Xiaoyu took Julia by the hand, and led her to the elevators.

"Let's go to my room, so that you can change into your new bikini. Then we can head down to the pool!" said Xiaoyu with excitement in her eyes. Julia just smiled at her friend. It was so easy to be happy around Xiaoyu. She was so energetic and optimistic about everything. Her happiness was infectious. They headed to the eleventh floor to Xiaoyu's room. Xiaoyu retrieved her room key from her sock, and opened the door. Julia entered the room behind Xiaoyu, and looked around her. The room was beautiful, and had a king size bed in the center. Xiaoyu bounced onto the bed, and said, "Okay, Julia. Close your eyes." she giggled.

"Xiao, I already know what you got me." Julia said as she rolled her eyes.

"I know, but I want to see the surprised look on your face! Close your eyes!" Xiaoyu insisted.

"Okay." Julia relented. Xiaoyu slid her hand under the pillow where she had hidden Julia's bikini. She then placed it in Julia's wanting hands. With a giggle she said, "Okay. Open your eyes!" Julia looked down at the object placed into her hands. Xiaoyu was right, the color of the bikini was beautiful, but it had such tiny triangles of cloth to hide her unmentionables. The words, _'Leaves little to the imagination.' _crossed Julia's mind.

"Well, what do you think?" Xiaoyu asked with an expectant face. Julia didn't want to disappoint her friend so she said,

"It's beautiful! Thank you, Xiao!" as she hugged her friend.

"You really like it?" asked Xiaoyu.

"Yes, but before I forget. The present I got for you is in my bags. I think someone already took them to my room." said Julia as she tried to change the subject so that Xiaoyu would not notice her trying to hide the swimsuit in her messenger bag.

"That's okay. I can wait. Hey, why don't you change into your bikini so we can go down to the pool?" Xiaoyu said. Obviously, Julia would not be able to avoid wearing that bikini.

"Okay. I'll go change in the bathroom." Julia said reluctantly. Xiaoyu began busying herself with looking for the sunscreen. Julia quietly slid her boots off, and took off her shorts and panties. She then put on the bikini bottoms. She adjusted the metal links on the bikini bottom to fit her hips better. Julia stood back from the full length mirror that was behind the bathroom door to see how this bikini bottom looked on her. The bikini bottom actually complemented her curves. As she slid on the halter style bikini top, she noticed that it was a bit small for her. She then tied the bikini strap that went behind her neck in a triple knot just to be sure it would not become loose. Then she put on the heels that Xiaoyu had bought her for this bikini. Lastly, she tied her hair into two low, long pigtails, and put her cowboy hat back on. She studied her reflection in the mirror. She felt like a femme fatale, and she looked like one too.

"Okay, Xiao. Tell me what you think." Julia said as she emerged from the bathroom.

Xiaoyu took one look at Julia in her new bikini and said, "Wow, Julia! You look amazing! The guys at the pool won't know what to think!" Xiaoyu said as she clapped her hands.

"Oh, stop over exaggerating. Are you ready?" Julia asked as she put on a strapless aqua blue sundress to cover up her swimsuit. Xiaoyu already had her swimsuit on under her pink and white sundress.

"Yeah, let's hit the pool!" said Xiaoyu as she slipped on her sandals.


	3. Chapter 3: Poolside Pervert

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters.

**Chapter 3- Poolside Pervert**

Julia and Xiaoyu summoned elevator and got inside. As Julia pushed the first floor button, Xiaoyu started bouncing up and down with impatience.

"Xiao, what's wrong? Do you have to use the restroom?" asked Julia in an amused voice.

"No, silly. I am just dying to get into that pool. I hope some of my friends are there so I can introduce you." said Xiaoyu as the elevator announced that they were in the lobby. Julia followed behind Xiaoyu, and noticed the pool. It wasn't too crowded, but there was a good amount of people there. She spotted the cabana bar to the right, and some of the competitors where on the lounge chairs by the pool. She observed Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law at the bar taking shots of tequila. She noticed Nina Williams lounging by the pool. There were plenty of other people around, but Julia didn't recognize anyone else. She followed Xiaoyu over to some lounge chairs. Xiaoyu dropped her bag and kicked off her sandals. As she removed her sundress she said, "I'm gonna cool off in the pool. I'll be right back."

"Okay, I'm going to the bar, do you want anything?" Julia said as she put her bag down on the seat.

"Just some bottled water, please." Xiaoyu called as she dove into the deep end of the pool. Julia nodded as she stood up to take off her sundress. Just she was about to pull her dress over her head, she stopped. She then became aware that every male within the vicinity of the pool was staring at her. Her body looked mouthwatering in her new bikini, and every man present could not take their eyes of her. Julia smiled as she pulled on her white sunglasses, and she began strutting towards the bar. The bartenders saw her approaching, and one dropped the glass he was cleaning to come towards her first.

"What can I get for you, beautiful?" he said in a deep voice.

"One bottle of water and one Mai Tai." said Julia with a smile. The bartender was momentarily dazed by her smile.

"Coming right up." he said in a hurried voice. Julia then turned around to face the rest of the spectators. When she made eye contact with any of them, they ashamedly looked away. Julia then made eye contact with one man who would not look away. This man stared at her with an intensity that was tangible. She stared back at this guy, and wondered who would look away first. She suddenly felt very shy, and dropped her gaze. She looked back up at the man, and he was still staring at her. His eyes bore into hers, and Julia thought she saw a flicker of possessiveness. This man looked to be in his early twenties. He had ink-black spiky hair that fell on to his forehead. His eyes were intense, and never seemed to leave her. He had a confident smirk on his face, as if he knew her every thought. Julia noticed that he was wearing red and black swim trucks, and that was the only thing he was wearing. She had to admit that he had a nice physique. His bare chest was sculpted to perfection. In fact, his body was so nice that Julia had to look away because she started drooling at the corner of her mouth. She turned to face the bartenders, and noticed that there was a drink placed before her that she had not ordered.

"Um, excuse me? I didn't order this." she said in a weary voice.

"That drink is compliments of the red headed gentleman standing next to the pinball machine. He sent you the 'Sex on the Beach' drink you see before you." responded the bartender matter-of-factly. Julia looked over at the man leaning against the pinball machine. He was tall and had a toned body. He had his arms folded across his chest, and had a mischievous smirk on his face. His red hair seemed totally out of place on his body. Julia was about to accept his drink until he started making kissy faces and licking his lips at her. _'How rude.'_ thought Julia. She put her sunglasses back on, and turned towards the bartender.

"Tell him, I said no thank you." Julia stated as she grabbed the bottle of water and her Mai Tai. She turned around to walk back towards her lounge chair. As she started walking, she noticed that the man with the black hair was still staring at her. _'Take a picture, it will last longer.' _thought Julia. Somehow she felt herself becoming more shy by the minute because of this bold man staring at her. She placed the water bottle next to Xiaoyu's chair as she sat down in her own chair. She noticed the man still staring at her, but he was the least of her worries. As she started sipping her Mai Tai, she noticed the red haired man walking over to her holding the drink she had refused. _'Oh great.' _thought Julia. He stood over her with a smirk on his face.

"You are blocking my sun." said Julia in an uninterested voice. The red haired man laughed, and sat down across from her.

"I sent you a drink. I guess you forgot to get it from the bar." he said motioning to the drink.

"You guessed wrong. I didn't want the drink." Julia said as she reached into her bag to pull out a magazine.

"And why didn't you want the drink?" the man asked with raised eyebrows.

Julia raised her glass and said, "I already have one."

The man looked at her through narrowed eyes. He set the drink down next to his feet and suddenly he broke out into a wide grin.

"I'm sorry, let's start over, my name is Hwoarang. Here's my business card." he said as he handed Julia a card. Julia looked at the card. It had his name and phone number along with a caption that said, _'World-Class Fighter and World's Greatest Lover.' _Julia rolled her eyes and slipped the card back into his front shirt pocket. Hwoarang looked stunned as she placed the card into his pocket. Across the pool, she could see the man with black hair laughing.

"What is your problem?" Hwoaroang asked in an irritated voice.

"I don't have a problem. You do. You think that you can just send me over a drink, then make some obscene facial expressions, and expect me to be impressed? Think again." Julia said as she took off her sunglasses so that he could see her annoyed expression.

"Geez. Don't be so sensitive. You are too beautiful to be angry. I just sent you the drink for only one reason." Hwoarang said slyly.

"And what reason is that?" Julia asked even though she knew the answer.

"To see if you would give me a chance to have some real sex on the beach with you." Hwoarang stated unabashed. Julia swung her legs over the side of the lounge chair to face her body towards Hwoarang.

"So, you want some sex on the beach?" Julia said as she picked up the drink next to Hwoarang.

"Yeah." said Hwoarang expectantly. Julia stood up and poured the drink on top of Hwoarang's head.

"Here you go." Julia said with a malicious grin. Everyone at the pool burst out into an uproar of laughter.

"Looks like you struck out, Red!" shouted Paul Phoenix. Julia looked at the man with the black hair, he was shaking with laughter. Hwoarang stood up, and looked at Julia.

"I will get you back for this. That's a promise." he said as he began to walk off.

"I'd love to see that." Julia said in bored tone of voice as she sat back down on her lounge chair.


	4. Chapter 4: Embarassing Introductions

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 4- Embarassing Introductions**

Julia put her white sunglasses back on, and looked in the direction of the man with black hair. This time he wasn't looking at her, instead he was speaking to Xiaoyu. _'Oh no, I hope that he is not one of the friends that Xiao wanted to introduce me to.' _thought Julia. Good thing that she was wearing her sunglasses so that no one could see the sudden anxiety in her eyes. She crossed her ankles on the lounge chair and pretended to read her magazine, but she was really looking at Xiaoyu and the black haired man. Suddenly, she saw Xiaoyu turn around and point her out to the black haired stranger. _'Oh please, please no!'_ Julia thought frantically. Julia didn't want to meet the man with black hair. She felt uncomfortable with meeting this man who had a staring problem. He stared at her differently than other men usually did. Men usually looked at her with desire or lust. This black haired man looked at her with determination and ownership. _'No one owns me.' _thought Julia stubbornly. She then noticed that Xiaoyu was walking towards her with a huge smile on her face. The man with the black hair was back to staring at her. Julia quickly jumped up from her lounge chair, and started speed-walking back towards the hotel. She pretended not to see Xiaoyu walking towards her.

"Julia! Wait!" Xiaoyu shouted at her. Julia stopped since Xiaoyu was only two steps behind her. Julia suddenly cursed herself for wearing the heels that Xiaoyu had given her. They made her unable to walk fast.

"Julia, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. He really wants to meet you." Xiaoyu said while pulling Julia's hand.

"Who do you want me to meet?" Julia asked in a guarded voice.

"My friend, of course! C'mon, he's sitting on the opposite side of the pool. Don't worry, he doesn't bite." Xiaoyu said as she practically dragged Julia around the pool.

"He might." said Julia under her breath. She looked at the man with black hair. He had a confident smirk playing on his lips. _'I can tell that this guy will get on my nerves.' _thought Julia. Xiaoyu tugged along Julia until they both stood in front of the black haired man.

"Julia, I want to introduce you to Jin Kazama. Jin, I would like you to meet my friend, Julia Chang." Xiaoyu said politely.

Jin stood up and extended his hand to Julia in greeting. Julia was about to shake Jin's hand when the following events seemed to happen in slow motion. Julia felt something cold and metal on the side of her neck, she then felt a rush of air behind her, and then she heard the sound of running footsteps. She turned to her left and saw a streak of red hair. Hwoarang was running back towards the hotel. Julia and Xiaoyu both exchanged quick glances. Xiaoyu suddenly looked down and said,"Oh no! Julia, your top!" Julia looked down and saw that her bikini top was on her waist. It took a second to register in her brain that her breasts were exposed. It took another second to realize that Jin Kazama was still standing in front of her. He still had his hand extended towards her and his eyes were wide open. Julia stood there mortified and unmoving. She resembled a deer caught in a car's headlights. Xiaoyu suddenly said, "Hwoarang, I'm gonna kill you!" as she took of running after him. Xiaoyu's threat snapped Jin and Julia out of their trances. Julia's hands flew up to cover herself. Jin shook his head to bring himself back to reality. Then he said, " Well, it's very nice to meet you, Julia." Julia looked like she was about to throw up. Then Jin noticed that everyone at the pool was staring at Julia and some were hollering things at her. He quickly retrieved his beach towel and wrapped it around Julia.

"Here, take this." Jin said in a rushed voice.

"I'm going back to my room." Julia said as she tried to blink back tears from her eyes.

"I'll escort you so that no one will bother you." Jin offered. Julia was about to refuse his offer then she heard some of the things people were shouting at her.

"C'mon sweetie, don't be shy. Let's see the goods again!" Paul Phoenix jeered. Jin looked at him with a look that made Julia's blood run cold. Paul shut up after seeing Jin's face.

"Thank you, Jin." Julia said simply. Jin led her around the pool to get her bag and room key. They headed into the lobby. Julia looked out the windows to the parking lot. She could see an angry Xiaoyu on top of Hwoarang, pounding him into the pavement. Julia smiled to herself as she entered the elevator. Jin stepped into the elevator after Julia.

"What floor is your room on?" asked Jin as the elevator doors were closing.

"The ninth floor." Julia responded with a little laugh.

"What's funny?" Jin asked defensively as he pushed the button.

"I was just laughing because I saw Xiao in the parking lot beating up Hwoarang. He better not meet me in the ring because I will throttle him." Julia said in a detached voice. Jin looked at her and realized that she was serious about hurting Hwaorang. He smiled as he then realized that he was looking forward to seeing Julia fight anyone in the tournament.

"That is of course, if I don't kill Hwoarang before he has a chance to compete in the tournament." said Jin suddenly as he turned to look at Julia. Julia looked at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Now why would you want to do that? He didn't do anything to you." asked Julia in a suspicious voice.

"Well, Hwoarang and I have always had a rivalry between us. Xiaoyu says that we fight like cats and dogs, and I agree with her since Hwoarang is such a pussy." said Jin truthfully. Suddenly, Julia laughed a carefree laugh. Jin eyed her curiously.

"Xiaoyu didn't tell me that you were so funny. So since Hwoarang is the cat, I guess that makes you the dog? That's interesting since you hardly seem like a dog." Julia said as they reached the ninth floor.

"You are just being polite. I know you must think that I'm a dog judging by the way I couldn't take my eyes off you at the pool." Jin admitted as Julia used her card key to open the door to her room.

"Well, I wouldn't call you a dog because of that. You did help me when I needed it." Julia turned to face Jin.

"All things aside, I am happy that I got to meet you." said Jin as he put his hand on her bare shoulder.

Just as Jin's hand made contact with her skin, Julia's body went totally rigid. Julia suddenly felt an evil presence inside of Jin. _'How can such evil exist inside of one person?' _she wondered to herself. Jin was shaking her.

"Julia? What's wrong?" Jin asked in a worried tone. Then Julia saw the hallway fading to black, and she felt herself falling. Before she hit the ground Jin caught her in his arms.

"Julia? Julia! Answer me!" Jin said in panicked voice.

Author's note: Thank you for all the words of encouragement. I really appreciate it! This chapter was really fun to write. Just wait for the next chapter...there's lots of surprises in store =)

XOXO,

Nina


	5. Chapter 5: Accusations

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 5- Accusations**

Julia had fainted in the hallway. Jin looked truly afraid since he didn't know what had caused this to happen. He quickly picked her up, and swung the door open to enter her room. He placed her on the bed.

"Julia? Can you hear me?" Jin asked as he checked her vital signs. She wasn't breathing and her pulse was weak. Jin was suddenly confronted with the idea that Julia might die if he didn't act quickly. He threw the towel that was covering Julia to the floor, and started to perform CPR. He pressed down on her chest, but there was still no response. He then lifted her face up to attempt mouth-to-mouth. Jin placed his lips on hers, then put his ear to her chest to listen for anything. Finally, Jin breathed into Julia's mouth once more, and suddenly Julia's eyes flew open and she began coughing back into Jin's mouth. Jin pulled back to look into Julia's eyes. She groaned and rubbed her eyes with her hands.

"What the..." Julia started to ask in a raspy voice. Jin looked at the carpeted floor, picked up the towel, and handed it to Julia. Julia then realized that she was exposed for the second time today. Then it dawned on her that Jin was sitting on her bed in her room. She quickly stood up, and gave a Jin an uppercut to his jaw. Jin was not anticipating her attack since he had been averting his eyes to be respectful of her. Jin flew off the bed into a defensive stance. He looked at Julia through narrowed eyes. Julia tied the towel around herself and got into her own defensive stance. After about a minute or two of staring each other down, Julia was the first one to break the silence.

"Explain yourself, Kazama." she growled at him. Jin suddenly looked surprised at her choice of words.

"Explain myself? You are the one that attacked me." Jin accused.

"Well, just what are you doing here in my room? And why were you just sitting on my bed?" asked Julia through clenched teeth.

"Maybe I will answer your questions if you stop looking at me like that." he answered in a guarded tone.

"Like what?" asked Julia suspiciously.

"Like you want to kill me." he answered as he took a step backward.

"You've got some nerve. I wake up to find your lips on mine, we are on the bed, and I'm naked. I think that I can look at you however I want." Julia barked.

"You think that I tried to force myself on you?" asked Jin in a shocked voice as he momentarily stepped out of his defensive stance.

"Well, it sure looks that way. Be a man and admit it!" she accused. Jin's face went from shocked to livid in 1.5 seconds.

"This is the thanks I get for saving your life? Look, you fainted in the hallway, I picked you up, and brought you into your room. You weren't breathing, so I gave you CPR and mouth-to-mouth." he explained in an angry tone.

"And you just couldn't resist taking the towel off me while I was unconscious, could you?" Julia accused as she took a step toward Jin.

"Don't flatter yourself. I just needed to remove the towel to administer CPR. I wasn't taking advantage of you, and come to think of it, I wouldn't want to anyway. I could see that you were delusional, but I now I know you are crazy as well." he sneered. Julia was very furious now.

"You know, acting like a dick won't make yours any bigger, that is assuming you even have one." Julia said while laughing. Jin raised his eyebrows and turned on his heel to head for the door.

"This conversation is over, I'm leaving." he said as he opened the door. Julia followed him to the door and threw the towel into the hallway.

"Here, you forgot this!" she shouted as she slammed the door. Julia was fuming. _'Jin Kazama is the most annoying and infuriating man on the planet.' _she thought angrily. She went into her luggage to get an outfit to put on. She quickly settled on black tank top and black capri pants. She then heard a knock on her door. _'What now?'_ she thought.

"Who is it?" she asked in an annoyed voice.

"Front desk." the person stated. Julia looked through the peephole on the door. She saw a man in a hotel uniform. She turned the doorknob and opened the door.

"Sorry to bother you, Ms. Chang. I was told to give this to all the competitors in the King of Iron Fist Tournament." said the man as he handed her a letter.

"Thanks." she said as she accepted the letter. She shut and locked the door behind her. She took the letter out of the envelope and began reading it.

**_'Greetings, fighters. The tournament will begin this Saturday. Feel free to use the hotel's gym to practice as much as you need to. The opening ceremonies for the tournament will begin on Saturday evening as well. We would like every fighter to showcase their country of choice and/or origin. We look forward to this year's tournament. Good luck to all.'_**

Julia placed the paper on the nightstand next to her bed. She couldn't think about the tournament right now. She was still fuming about her argument with Jin. _'Who does he think he is? Calling me delusional is one thing, but no one calls me crazy and gets away with it!'_ Julia thought while grinding her teeth. Julia was so angry that she felt like hitting something. _'I think I should go to the gym, I need to get rid of this negative energy.' _she thought as she grabbed her clip-on ipod and room key. She also slipped on a black hoodie before she went to the door. She slipped the hood over her head since she didn't want to attract any more unwanted attention today. She opened the door and headed towards the elevator. She pushed the first floor button which was where the gym was located. Once the elevator doors opened, Julia stepped into the lobby, and right away she saw Hwoarang at the front desk. He had his back to the elevators, so he didn't see Julia enter the lobby. She quickly and quietly ducked around the nearest corner. She overheard bits of Hwoarang's conversation with the receptionist.

"That's right, I want the flowers sent to her room. Also, put a card that says, _'To: Julia. Sorry for being so crass. Please forgive me so that I can tap your ass. Love, Hwoarang.'_ he said in smug voice. The receptionist eyed him with raised eyebrows, but she kept her mouth shut. Julia shook her head, and started walking down the corridor that led to the gym. _'Maybe Xiaoyu should hit him a few more times in the head since he still doesn't get it.' _she thought as she opened the door to the gym. The gym was empty which was good since Julia wanted to be alone. The gym was very spacious. It had row after row of cardio machines and it had an adjoining room devoted to weight machines. She looked to her left and noticed that there were some punching bags hanging in another adjoining room. _'Perfect. That's just what I need.' _she thought as she opened the door to the punching bag room. She turned on her ipod and began stretching. Then she started taking out all of her frustration on the punching bag. Julia practiced a few of her signature moves while listening to a heavy metal song. _'I didn't realize that I had so much negative energy in me. It must have come from Jin.'_she thought to herself as she continued hitting and kicking the bag. Suddenly, Julia's thoughts started drifting back to what Jin had said about her fainting in the hallway. _'Why had I fainted?' _she wondered. Then she remembered the evil presence she had felt emanating from Jin. He had some kind power in him, and it wasn't a good power. Just thinking about that evil inside of Jin sent chills down her back. Julia was practicing her moves with such fervor that she didn't notice that she was no longer alone in the punching bag room.

"Excuse me, aren't you Julia Chang?" said a voice. Julia didn't appear to hear the voice, she just kept on hitting the punching bag.

"Hey, I'm talking to...OH!" the person reached out to tap Julia on the shoulder. That had startled Julia, and she crouched down to kick the person who had startled her. Julia knocked the person on their back and said, "Who are you?"

Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement! Stay tuned for the next chapter...even more surprises are in store =)

XOXO,

Nina


	6. Chapter 6: New Friends

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Tekken and its characters are the property of Namco. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 6- New Friends  
**

Julia stayed tensed in a defensive crouch. She quickly yanked the earphones out of her ears, and stared at the person on the ground in front of her. Julia had never met this person before. She was a tall, tanned, and slender woman. Her shiny brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there was a trace of anxiety in her eyes. She wore a light pink sports bra with some white pants that had gold drawstrings hanging off them. She was also wearing white flip-flops, and her face wore a shocked expression. Julia slowly stood up and said, "I'll ask you one more time. Who are you?" The woman sat up and crossed her legs.

"My name is Christie Monteiro, and I'm also a competitor in the tournament." she answered calmly.

"And why did you sneak up on me like that?" asked Julia with narrowed eyes.

"I didn't sneak up on you. I called out to you, and when you didn't answer I reached out to tap you on your shoulder. Obviously, that was a bad idea." Christie said as Julia extended a hand to help her up.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm a little jumpy. Its been one of those days." said Julia as she shook her head. Christie smiled in sympathy.

"Yeah, Xiaoyu asked me to help her look for you because she was worried that you would leave." Christie admitted.

"Xiaoyu was looking for me? Why did she ask you to help look for me?" asked Julia in a surprised tone.

"Well, I had just finished getting settled in my room when Xiaoyu called me asking me to come down to the lobby. When I reached the lobby, she rushed up to me, and asked me to help her find a friend of hers." Christie answered matter-of-factly.

"Did she tell you anything else?" asked Julia as she wiped her face with a towel.

"Not really. Xiaoyu said that your name was Julia Chang, and that she was worried that you had left the tournament because of something that had happened. So, Xiao and I split up to search around the hotel." Christie explained as she sat down on a nearby bench.

"Well, I didn't leave, but I sure wanted to after what happened." stated Julia as she sat down next to Christie.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to make you want to leave?" asked Christie with a curious look on her face.

"Well, I might as well tell you since you will probably hear about it sooner or later." said Julia as she stared at the floor. Julia then replayed the pool incident for Christie. Christie sat listening with her eyes wide.

"And Hwoarang went behind you and cut your bikini strap?" asked Christie in a shocked voice.

"Yeah, I saw him running off and he had dropped a pair of scissors." said Julia as she turned to look at Christie.

"And Jin saw the everything?" pressed Christie.

"Sadly, yes." replied Julia as she shook her head.

"Talk about a bad day. I wouldn't blame you if you did leave the tournament after all that." Christie said sincerely.

"Yeah, but I didn't. I'm not a quitter." said Julia with determination.

"Well, I should call Xiaoyu to let her know that I found you. Knowing her, she's probably about to start making fliers with your picture on them." giggled Christie. Julia laughed along with Christie. Christie pulled out her phone and started dialing. She then put the phone to her ear. Xiaoyu answered on the first ring.

"Xiao, I found Julia. She was practicing in the gym...Okay, we'll meet you back in your room." said Christie as spoke with Xiaoyu. She then hung up, and placed her phone back in her pants pocket.

"Do you want to head up to Xiaoyu's room now?" she asked as she hopped up off the bench. A piece of paper slid out of her pocket. Julia picked it up.

"Sure. Here you dropped this." she said as she handed the paper back to Christie.

"Oh, thanks. Its nothing, just a letter talking about the opening ceremonies of the tournament." Christie said in a nonchalant tone.

"I received that same letter. It said something about how they wanted every competitor to do something to represent their country. Were you going to participate?" Julia said as she stood up from the bench.

"I'm not sure. My mentor, Eddy Gordo, says that he wants me to help him with a presentation." replied Christie. She and Julia exited the punching bag room, and started walking toward the gym's entrance/exit doors.

"What country will you be representing?" asked Julia as they exited the gym together.

"Brazil. That's where I'm from. Eddy wants to perform his capoeira, and he wants me to do the national dance of Brazil. I told Eddy that I didn't want to do the dance because I didn't want to dance alone." Christie said as they began walking to the lobby to get on the elevator.

"Do you mind if we stop at my room first before we go to Xiaoyu's? I want to get the gift that I have for her." Julia said as she entered the elevator.

"Sure. Maybe that will keep Xiaoyu from getting upset with you for making her think you had left for good." said Christie with a smile.

"You must have read my mind." answered Julia as she pushed the ninth floor button.

"So, are you going to do anything to represent your country in the opening ceremonies?" asked Christie curiously.

"Well, I didn't have anything planned. I'm sure that someone else will do something to represent the States." answered Julia as they reached the ninth floor. Christie's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Maybe you can help me then. I need someone else to perform the dance with me since Eddy will be doing his capoeira. Would you be interested?" asked Christie with anticipation.

"What kind of dance is it? I'm not much of a dancer." asked Julia as she opened her room door. The first thing she saw was a bouquet of beautiful Calla Lilies on the table in her room. Julia rolled her eyes. _'Those must be from Hwoarang, the poet_.' she thought to herself.

"Wow. Those flowers are gorgeous. Your day is starting to look up." said Christie as she entered the room after Julia. Julia headed over to her luggage to look for Xiaoyu's gift.

"Just wait 'til you read the card, then you might change your mind." responded Julia as she unzipped her bag. Christie picked up the card from the flowers. She read it, and a look of confusion crossed her face.

"I don't know, but I think Jin is making a valiant effort with this nice gesture." said Christie as she turned to look at Julia. Julia dropped her bag and stood up like lightning had struck her. She ran over to Christie's side.

"What did you say? Jin sent the flowers?" Julia managed to squeak out. She was expecting the flowers to be from Hwoarang.

"Yeah, look. See for yourself." Christie said as she handed the card to Julia. Julia began reading the card.

_**'Julia, I wanted to apologize for treating you the way that I did, but I think you can agree that we were both out of line. Please let me make it up to you. **__**-Jin'**_

Julia read the card twice, and she still didn't believe what it said._ 'Jin is actually apologizing? This guy has some serious mood swings. And he had the nerve to say that I'm at fault as well. What kind of person apologizes and then tells you that you are wrong in the same sentence?'_ she thought to herself.

"Well, what do you think?" Christie pressed. Julia threw the card back on the table and laughed.

"I don't know. Maybe he was drunk or something. Either way, he's going to have to do better than that after what he said to me. I don't plan on speaking to him again." Julia said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Maybe he's really sorry. You honestly won't give him a chance?" Christie asked with raised eyebrows.

"I doubt that he is sorry." Julia said as she bent down to grab Xiaoyu's present.

"Jin seems sincere, don't you think?" Christie kept on. Julia wanted to stop talking about Jin. She quickly changed the subject.

"So, you never finished telling me about the dance for the ceremony." Julia said casually. Christie was quickly distracted.

"Oh! The dance is called the samba. This dance is so much fun, and I think you'll be great at it!" Christie said as Julia opened the door. She quickly turned around to check if the door had locked, and they proceeded to the elevators.

"Hmm...is it a fast dance?" asked Julia as they summoned the elevator.

"Yes, and it has lots of drums and hip shaking. I even have an extra costume that you can wear!" Christie sounded more excited by the minute.

"Costume? We have to wear costumes?" Julia asked as they stepped onto the elevator. She then pushed the eleventh floor button.

"Well, it wouldn't be a samba without the costumes!" giggled Christie.

"What do the costumes look like?" asked Julia suspiciously. Christie dropped her eyes to the floor but continued smiling.

"Promise me that you will keep an open mind about the costumes." said Christie slyly.

"That's code for 'barely there.' You are just like Xiaoyu...sneaky." said Julia as the elevator doors opened.

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Please keep them coming. I appreciate everyone's input =) NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW- Will Julia give Jin another chance? Will Julia decide to samba or not? What will happen next? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	7. Chapter 7: Wants and Needs

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 7- Wants and Needs**

Christie laughed as the elevator reached Xiaoyu's floor. Julia followed Christie to Xiaoyu's room.

"Well, just think about it. It will be amazing! It will be our own version of Brazilian Carnival!" Christie exclaimed as they approached Xiaoyu's door. Julia nodded as she lifted her hand to knock on Xiaoyu's door. The door swung open before Julia's hand made contact with it. In the doorway stood Xiaoyu with her face in a noticeable pout. Julia smiled a warm smile at Xiaoyu and said,

"Hi, Xiao. What's the matter?" Julia asked in a concerned voice. Xiaoyu moved aside and motioned for the girls to enter her room. Xiaoyu closed the door behind her; Julia and Christie exchanged skeptical glances. Xiaoyu turned to Julia, put her hands on her hips, and said,

"Julia, how could you make me worry like that?" Xiaoyu stated with a frown on her normally cheerful face. Julia put her hand on Xiaoyu's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry for being inconsiderate, Xiao. I was just so furious and mortified all at the same time. I couldn't think straight." Julia said while hanging her head. Xiaoyu's expression changed to sympathetic. She took Julia by the hand, and sat down on the bed. Julia and Christie both sat on the bed with Xiaoyu.

"I know. I would be embarrassed too if the same thing were to happen to me! Don't worry, I took care of Hwoarang in the parking lot for you. I really let him have it." Xiaoyu said while cracking her knuckles. Christie and Julia giggled at the same time. The atmosphere in Xiaoyu's room was noticeably lighter. Julia handed Xiaoyu the gift bag.

"Here's the gift I brought for you. I hope you like it." Julia said expectantly. Xiaoyu's eyes lit up excitedly. She took the gift from Julia's outstretched hand. Xiaoyu began removing the tissue paper in a hurried fashion.

"Easy, Xiao. Don't rip the bag!" Christie teased with a giggle. Then Xiaoyu pulled out her presents. Julia had brought her a cowgirl hat like the one she had, only Xiaoyu's was all pink. Xiaoyu gasped as she saw her other present. It was a small Hello Kitty purse covered entirely with crystals. Xiaoyu hugged Julia and said,

"Thank you so much, Julia! The presents are so beautiful!" Xiaoyu said exuberantly. Xiaoyu stood up and walked over to the full-length mirror to see how she looked with the cowgirl hat on.

"I'm so glad that you like your gifts, Xiao. That hat looks great on you!" Julia said enthusiastically. Christie nodded her head in agreement.

"Now you need somewhere to show it off." said Christie as she stood up off the bed. Xiaoyu turned around.

"You really think it looks good? Well, in that case, we should go out tonight!" Xiaoyu said as she walked back over towards her friends. Julia looked nervous, and Christie looked excited.

"That's a great idea! We should go dancing!" Christie said with a smile.

"Where should we go? Maybe I should call Jin to invite him. He seemed pretty irritated when he came to my room before you two showed up." said Xiaoyu in a nonchalant tone. Julia's blood suddenly started boiling. She stood up and faced Xiaoyu.

"Do not invite Jin to come with us. If he comes along, I will not." said Julia without breathing. Xiaoyu looked at Christie, and understanding suddenly washed over Xiaoyu's face.

"Do I sense some hostility between you and Jin? What happened?" asked Xiaoyu with her voice full of concern. Julia pursed her lips.

"Jin walked me back to my room after the pool incident, and then we had an argument. End of story." Julia said as she started pacing the room. Just the thinking about Jin made Julia both angry and antsy. Xiaoyu looked at Julia with raised eyebrows.

"You forgot to mention that Jin sent you flowers to apologize for the disagreement that you had." interjected Christie. Julia stopped pacing momentarily to gawk at Christie.

"I wasn't planning on mentioning that to anyone." said Julia as she narrowed her eyes.

"But he sent you flowers! That is so sweet!" said Xiaoyu as she clapped her hands.

"That's what I said, but Julia won't give him a chance. I think that he likes her." Christie said to Xiaoyu.

"I think that you are right. That type of gesture is totally out of character for Jin. He doesn't like to admit when he's wrong." Xiaoyu added.

Julia was looking out the window, trying not to think about Jin. She tried not to think about how his eyes smoldered whenever he looked at her. She tried to tell her mind not remember how delicious his body looked. She tried to push away the feeling of longing for him to touch her again. _'Where did this feeling come from? A second ago, I was dreading the thought of Jin. Now, I feel like I can't wait to see him again.' _she thought to herself. She shook her head to rid herself of the unexplainable feelings. She stared at the horizon as the sun was making its nightly disappearing act. She then turned around to face Christie and Xiaoyu as they sat on Xiaoyu's bed discussing the perils of Jin and Julia's love-hate relationship. Julia decided to attempt to sneak out of the room before Xiaoyu and Christie had a chance to notice. Christie and Xiaoyu didn't seem to notice as Julia slowly stepped toward the door. Just as Julia's hand closed around the doorknob she heard,

"Julia! Where are you going?" Xiaoyu exclaimed as she jumped up off the bed. '_Busted_.' Julia thought as she slowly turned around.

"I was going back to my room." Julia admitted.

"Okay. Go back to your room to start getting ready. I will call the front desk to find out what clubs are around here." Xiaoyu said with a smile.

"We will get ready too, and meet at your room in about in hour or so." Christie said excitedly.

"Sure, but don't invite Jin." Julia said quickly as she opened the door. Julia stepped into the hallway, and raced to the elevator. Somehow, she knew that Xiaoyu would still invite Jin. _'Well, if he comes with us, I'll just make him suffer.' _she thought with a mischievous grin. Julia reached the floor where her room was located. She quickly opened her door. She was surprised to find that there was a second bouquet of flowers waiting for her. This time the flowers were pink carnations and there was a card with them. These flowers were from Hwoarang, and the card was the same one that she had heard him talking to the receptionist about. Julia tossed the card back onto the table, and started to undress. She walked over to the front door of her room, just to make sure it was locked. Then she turned to her left and walked into her room's bathroom. Julia didn't realize how tense her muscles were until the hot water hit her body. All the events that happened today seemed to wash away. Finally, Julia finished her shower, and stepped out. She began to blow-dry her hair when she realized that she was nervous. Julia's stomach was doing back-flips and her heart was beating faster than usual. _'Am I nervous to go out, or nervous because I might see Jin tonight?' _she wondered to herself. As she finished drying her hair and began to flat-iron it, she realized that her anxiety was pertaining to Jin. _'Why do I feel this way? I can't like Jin. He's so...argh!' _Julia thought as she finished straightening her hair, and walked back into the room to do her makeup. She looked in the mirror, and hesitated. What should she wear tonight? _'I know the perfect dress.' _she thought to herself. She went over to the closet to look for the dress that she had in mind. She flipped through the clothes that were hanging when suddenly she found the dress. It was a candy apple red strapless dress with satin red roses sewn on the left hip and it had a plunging neckline. _'This dress will definitely make Jin suffer. I'll show him what he's missing.' _Julia thought to herself. She began applying her makeup with precision. She lined her hazel eyes with black liquid eyeliner. She made her eyelashes even longer with a few coats of mascara. Julia then put on her dress. She adjusted her strapless bra so that it would be hidden by the dress. She even put some special tape to keep her dress stuck to her breasts. _'This way I won't give everyone a free show like at the pool._' she thought. Julia slid on some black strappy heels on and walked up to the full length mirror on the wall. She looked at herself up and down to make sure that she had left no detail untouched. As she was putting on some jewelry, she heard the elevator outside open. Julia ignored the sound, and proceeded to put on some red lipstick that matched her shiny red toenails. Then she heard a knock at her door. _'I thought Christie and Xiaoyu would call me before they came to my room.' _she thought irritably.

"Who is it?" Julia asked cautiously.

"Jin Kazama." a familiar deep voice said. Julia looked both shocked and pleasantly surprised.

"What do you want?" Julia asked in an annoyed tone. She heard Jin sigh.

"I just wanted to talk to you." Jin said in calm voice. Julia ran to the mirror to do one last once-over, took a deep breath, and opened the door. Julia made eye contact with Jin. Jin gasped and bit his perfect bottom lip as he studied Julia. Jin looked at Julia up and down for a moment. Julia had forgotten to breathe for a second or two. _'Does he have any idea how sexy he looks when bites his lip? Its not fair. How can one person be so annoying but so alluring at the same time?'_ she thought to herself.

"Julia, may I come in?" Jin asked politely. Julia snapped out of her momentary daydream.

"Uh, I guess." Julia said as she stepped aside to let Jin enter the room.

"Did you get my flower...wait a minute. Those are not the flowers that I sent." said Jin as he walked over to the carnations.

"You didn't send those. I already got your flowers. They are over there." said Julia as she pointed towards another table that Jin's flowers were on.

"Then, who sent these?" Jin gestured to the pink carnations.

"Its not important who sent them." Julia said as she sat down on her bed. Jin noticed the card next to the carnations, and picked it up. Julia quickly stood up to take the card back from Jin.

"That's private. Give it back." Julia said as she reached to take the card away from Jin. Jin ignored her, and pulled the card out of her reach. As he read the card, a disgusted look crossed his face.

" _'Please forgive me, so that I can tap your ass?' _Where does Hwoarang come up with this stuff?" he said as he handed the card back to Julia. Julia took it, and put it back on the table. She turned to look back at Jin. He had an angry look on his face.

"Why did you accept those flowers from Hwoarang? Is it because you want him?" Jin asked with jealousy dripping from his voice. Julia looked at him in shock.

"For your information, I did not accept the flowers. They were delivered to my room when I wasn't here. And you do not need to speak to me in such a vulgar manner." Julia said as she put her hands on her hips. Jin narrowed his eyes.

"Are you going to meet him right now? You look like you are going out." Jin accused.

"That information is on a need-to-know basis." Julia stated boldly.

"Need-to-know basis?" Jin asked curiously.

"Yes, if I think you need to know, then I will tell you. You don't need to know where I'm going tonight." Julia said as she gathered her small black purse and her cell phone.

"What if I want to know where you are going?" Jin pressed. Julia slid her lipstick into her black purse.

"I still won't tell you. I have to be going now, so I will show you to the door." Julia said as she walked to the door. Jin looked furious as he followed behind Julia. He stood outside the door and watched Julia close the door.

"Julia, I demand that you tell me where you are going." Jin said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Your demands mean nothing to me." Julia said as she spun on her heel to walk towards the elevators.

"Wait." Jin said as he reached out to put his hand on Julia's shoulder. Julia's breath got caught in her throat. She stopped for a moment as she was facing away from Jin. He couldn't see the look of longing that she had on her face. She took her hand and removed his hand from her shoulder. As she turned to walk away, Jin held on to her hand. She pulled her hand away and said,

"You can't tell me what to do. I am not yours." Julia said as she walked towards the elevators. Jin sighed as he watched her leave.

"I want you to be mine." Jin said quietly as the elevator doors closed.


	8. Chapter 8: Feel the Beat

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction. (Author's note: I did create the character Antonio in this chapter.)

**Chapter 8- Feel the Beat**

Julia stared at the closed elevator doors. _'Why is he being so persistent? I cannot and will not let anything distract me from winning this tournament.' _

As Julia pushed the button to go to Xiaoyu's floor, she suddenly felt her mind swimming with thoughts of Jin. _'I can't be distracted from winning the tournament. However, Jin Kazama is the best looking distraction I've ever seen.'_ Julia admitted to herself. Suddenly, the elevator made a chiming noise and stopped at the tenth floor. The elevator doors opened, and a older man with grey hair stepped into the elevator with Julia. He was very tall and had bands of thick muscles. He was holding a cell phone to his ear, and he was speaking in what sounded like Japanese. He ignored Julia as he stood next to her. As he pushed the button to the top floor, he began speaking in English.

"Make sure you find out what his plans are...I don't care how you find out...Follow my grandson if you have to...yes, that's right...hold on, I'm in an elevator...just find out as much as you can about Kazama Jin." the man said as he hung up the phone and slid it into his jacket pocket. Julia's eyes widened a bit as she realized that the man next to her not only was wanting information on Jin, but he was also his grandfather.

"I hate elevators. Such horrible cell phone reception." said the man attempting to make small talk with Julia. Julia looked at the older man and smiled a tentative smile.

"Are you in the tournament, gorgeous?" he asked Julia as he looked at her up and down.

"Something like that." she said as she shifted her position. Something about this man made Julia uncomfortable. Suddenly, the elevator reached Xiaoyu's floor.

"In that case, I'll be seeing you around then." said Jin's grandfather with a smug smile.

"Looks like it." said Julia as she exited the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, Julia heard Jin's grandfather let out a low whistle. Julia turned around to see Jin's grandfather leering at her as the elevator doors closed. She shuddered. _'Eww...I suddenly feel like taking another shower.' _she thought to herself as she knocked on Xiaoyu's door. Xiaoyu opened the door, she was already dressed in a magenta colored one shoulder dress that went to her knees.

"Umm...I'll talk to you later." Xiaoyu said as she hung up her cell phone. Julia wondered if she was talking Jin on the other line.

"Hi, Julia! Wow, you look so hot! I was just about to call you, but I guess now I don't have to since you are already here." said Xiaoyu in a rush. Julia could tell that Xiaoyu was trying to distract Julia so that she wouldn't ask who was on the other line. Julia looked at Xiaoyu with a dubious look. Xiaoyu suddenly looked nervous. Julia decided not to ask who was on the other line. She wanted tonight to be a fun night, and she didn't want to waste another minute thinking about Jin.

"Sorry, Xiao. I got bored in my room, so I decided to just come up to your room." Julia said with a carefree smile. Xiaoyu looked relieved.

"Okay, then we just have to wait for Christie." said Xiaoyu as she stepped aside for Julia to enter the room.

"No, you don't have to wait for me. I'm here." said Christie as she walked toward Xiaoyu's room. Christie was wearing a sequined purple halter dress with silver heels.

"Good. We're all ready, so let's go." said Xiaoyu as she stepped out into the hallway to lock her door.

"So, where are we going?" asked Julia as they walked toward the elevator.

"Well, I called the front desk to ask about some nearby clubs. Guess what? There is a club about three blocks from the hotel that sounds awesome!" Xiaoyu said in an excited rush. They entered the elevator and Christie pushed the button to the lobby.

"What type of music do they play?" asked Christie sounding suddenly interested.

"It's like four clubs in one. They have separate areas for different types of music. There are areas for techno music, reggaeton, hip-hop, and Latin music." said Xiaoyu as the elevator opened into the lobby.

"That does sound awesome!" said Julia with new-found enthusiasm. _'It's not likely that Jin will be going to that. I just can't picture him dancing. He seems like he would have two left feet.' _she thought confidently to herself. The girls walked outside, and Xiaoyu got a cab for them. The girls were too excited to get to the club that neither of them noticed that they were being followed. A figure dressed all in black was lurking in the shadows behind a column when he saw them get into a cab. He got into a car, and proceeded to follow their cab.

The girls' cab pulled up to the club. They could feel the music coming from inside. Lots of people were scattered everywhere, talking loudly. Julia, Xiaoyu, and Christie exited the cab. Julia began walking toward the end of the line that was waiting to get inside the club.

"Uh, Julia where are you going?" asked Christie with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm getting in line. Why?" answered Julia honestly. Christie and Xiaoyu smiled at Julia as they grabbed her hands.

"We won't have to wait in line." said Xiaoyu mischievously.

"Why not?" asked Julia as they walked to the front of the line.

"You'll see." giggled Christie. At the front of the line, three burly-looking bouncers were waiting at the front door looking at a clipboard. As the three girls approached the front of the line, one of the bouncers looked up and elbowed the other two. They all looked in unison at Xiaoyu, Julia, and Christie. The main bouncer smiled and unhooked the velvet rope to allow the three girls to pass.

"Have fun, ladies." the bouncer said with a crooked grin. Christie batted her eyelashes at him.

"Thanks, handsome." Christie purred. Julia looked at the inside of the club. It was a pretty nice set up. The music was thumping and people were everywhere swaying to the beat.

"Let's go to the hip-hop area first!" Xiaoyu shouted over the techno music. Julia followed them as they meandered through the swaying bodies. As they made their way to the hip-hop area, Julia noticed in her peripheral vision a man with dark hair moving towards her. Suddenly she heard Xiaoyu exclaim, "Jin! What a coincidence!"

Julia knew that it was no coincidence that Jin was at the club as well. She rolled her eyes, and pretended not to hear Xiaoyu over the music. She quickly ducked between a dancing couple and walked out of the hip-hop area. As she continued walking, Julia heard some salsa music blasting. She decided to hide out in the Latin area. _'Hopefully, Jin won't find me in here._' Julia walked up to the bar and ordered a vodka cranberry. As she started sipping her drink, she noticed an attractive man smiling at her. He was a tall man with sun-tanned skin and a toned body. His dark hair and dark eyelashes made his sky blue eyes stand out.

"Are you alone tonight, Senorita?" asked the man with a Spanish accent. Julia smiled back at the stranger.

"Yes, but maybe you can fix that. What's your name, handsome?" she said seductively.

"Antonio. What's yours?" he said with a wide grin. Julia stood up to talk to Antonio. She suddenly felt as though someone was watching her. She casually scanned the area to see if someone was watching her. She only observed people talking and dancing; no one appeared to be looking at her. Still, Julia could not shake the feeling of someone staring at her. She turned back to look at Antonio.

"My name is Julia, and its very nice to meet you." said Julia in her most flirtatious voice. The vodka cranberry made her feel braver.

"Julia, que hermosa*. Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" he said as he held out his hand for Julia. Julia downed her vodka cranberry and put her hand in his.

"I'd love to." she said with a confident smile. Antonio and Julia walked onto the dance floor, hand in hand. Antonio suddenly spun Julia around, and then grabbed her waist with one hand. Julia put one hand on Antonio's shoulder and her other hand held his at eye level. Antonio then led Julia around the dance floor to the fast paced salsa music. Then suddenly, Julia heard someone clear their throat. Jin Kazama had appeared literally out of nowhere.

"Excuse me, may I cut in?" Jin asked in a silky voice. Antonio looked at Julia and said,

"That is up to Julia." Antonio said in a cynical tone. Julia looked astounded to see Jin on the dance floor. _'Why won't he just leave me alone?' _Julia asked herself.

"Sure. It was a pleasure meeting you, Antonio." Julia said as she turned toward Antonio. Antonio looked momentarily offended. Then Antonio shrugged and said,

"Whatever. Your loss." Julia rolled her eyes as Antonio walked back to the bar. Jin stepped toward Julia and held out his hand. Julia suddenly had a sardonic look on her face.

"Do you even know how to dance salsa?" she asked in a cocky tone as she placed her hand in Jin's. Jin smirked as he pulled Julia's body close to his.

"There are plenty of things you don't know about me." Jin said as he spun Julia around. Sultry, salsa music pounded around them. Their bodies spun and swayed together.

"I wouldn't have guessed that you could dance." Julia admitted as they danced.

"I'll take that as a complement. But, there are more important issues that require our attention." said Jin as he spun Julia around the dance floor.

"Such as?" she asked in between breaths.

"Like why you have been avoiding me." Jin said as he pulled Julia close to his body. Julia looked into Jin's eyes. She knew that she was starting to feel something for Jin, and it scared her. Jin could see the uneasiness in Julia's eyes. He reached up to gently touch Julia's face. He wanted to tell her that everything would be okay and that she could trust him, but he did not get the chance. Julia abruptly broke out of Jin's arms. Her face was a mask of impenetrable stone.

"Julia! Wait!" called Jin as he followed after her. Julia spun around to face Jin.

"Don't follow me. I need to be alone right now." she said in a catatonic voice as she headed to the ladies' bathroom. Jin stopped following after Julia. _'There's something that she is not telling me. Why won't she give me a chance?' _he thought to himself. Julia looked at herself in the bathroom mirrors. _'I cannot fall for Jin. I will not fall for Jin. There is no way I can be with someone with so much evil inside of them.'_ she thought. She quietly washed her hands in the sink, and she looked up at the mirror again. She noticed a figure dressed in all black standing a few feet behind her. Suddenly, the figure ran up behind her. Before Julia could react, the figure put a chloroform soaked cloth over Julia's mouth and nose.

"Hey, what the..." she said into the cloth. Her vision started getting blurry and her body went limp as the chloroform started working on her. The last thing Julia saw was the ground disappearing from under her as the figure in black carried her away.

*Que hermosa is Spanish for 'How beautiful.'

Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews both positive and negative =) I sincerely value the input.

XOXO,

Nina


	9. Chapter 9: Where For Art Thou, Julia?

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. (Author's note: I did create the character Dante.) Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter 9- Where For Art Thou, Julia?**

Jin Kazama waited patiently outside of the ladies' room for Julia to return. _'I'm really going to do this. I'm going to tell her how I truly feel about her_.' Jin's stomach suddenly felt as though he was aboard a tiny boat. He gulped. He then realized that he was about to make himself very vulnerable which was unprecedented in his nature. _'What if she laughs in my face? That's a risk I'm willing to take.' _He looked down at his watch, and noticed that Julia had been in the ladies' room for over fifteen minutes. His intuition flickered and a look of worry crossed his face. He quickly looked around to make sure that no one was watching him. Everyone around him was totally immersed in their own conversations and mating rituals, so he quickly ducked into the ladies' room. Jin looked around the ladies' room, and noticed that it was totally and eerily quiet.

"Julia? Julia, are you in here?" he called out. There was no answer. Something black drew his attention to the bathroom floor. He bent down to pick up the object. It was Julia's purse. Jin looked up and spotted a white cloth underneath one of the sinks. As he bent down to pick the cloth up, he noticed that it was caught on crease in the wall. Jin tugged and tugged until the cloth ripped free. He brought the cloth closer to his face, and recognized the scent of chloroform. He also noticed that the cloth had a red stain on it, similar to the color of lipstick Julia had been wearing. Jin suddenly noticed that when he had yanked the cloth free from the crease in the wall, the wall had opened slightly. He slowly pulled the wall open more to reveal a hidden corridor. _'I don't have a good feeling about this. Someone has taken Julia, and whoever that is, will have to answer to me._' Jin looked back one last time, and hastily ducked into the dark corridor.

Julia groaned as she tried to open her eyes. Then it occurred to her that she was blindfolded. She tried to lift her arms to take off the blindfold. She then realized that her arms were tied behind her back. Panicked, she started squirming from side to side to free herself. Suddenly, she felt herself falling off of the flat surface that she had been sitting on. A pair of hands grabbed her just before she hit the ground. Julia started screaming as she was sat upright.

"Someone help me!" she screamed in anguish. A another voice chuckled darkly.

"You can scream all you want, but no one will help you." said a low masculine voice. Julia jerked her head in the direction that the voice came from.

"Who are you? What is going on?" Julia asked frantically.

"In due time, Ms. Chang. All will be revealed in due time." he answered. Just then, there was the sound of a door opening.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said a familiar voice. Julia knew that she had heard that voice before, but she couldn't remember where. Suddenly, the blindfold that was over her eyes was loosened. Julia blinked her eyes a few times to adjust to the florescent lighting in the room. She opened her eyes wider when she recognized who was standing in front of her. Jin's grandfather stood with his arms folded across his chest. He had an amused smile on his wrinkled face. Next to Jin's grandfather stood a man with spiky peroxide-blonde hair dressed all in black that Julia did not recognize. _'He must have been the one who kidnapped me._' Julia realized. Just then the man in black opened his coat to pull out something that looked like photos. He quickly handed them to Jin's grandfather. Jin's grandfather flipped through the photos with a smug smile.

"Thank you, Dante. You have done well." said Jin's grandfather looking towards the man in black. Dante nodded once. Julia tried with all her might to maintain her composure, but fury was evident in her features.

"What is the meaning of this? Why am I here?" Julia asked struggling to keep her voice even. Jin's grandfather walked towards Julia. He stood next to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think you know why you are here. Just tell me what I want to know, and I will let you go." Jin's grandfather said with a friendly smile. Julia looked at him stunned. She didn't know what he was talking about.

"What is it that you want me to say?" Julia asked with a blank look on her face.

"Ms. Chang, I don't have time for your games. Do you know who I am?" he said while pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"I know that you are Jin's grandfather, but what does that have do with me?" she questioned.

"Yes, that's right. My name is Heihachi Mishima, and I know that you are my grandson's lover, so that makes you very valuable." he said as he stroked Julia's cheek with the back of his hand. Julia grimaced and tried to lean away from his touch.

"I am not your grandson's lover. I don't even know him that well." Julia stated angrily. Jin's grandfather chuckled darkly. He held up a picture for Julia to see. It was a picture of Julia and Jin dancing together at the club. The picture showed them close together, entranced in each other's arms.

"I've heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. In that case, it sure looks like you know my grandson very well." Heihachi stated skeptically.

"What difference does it make if I know Jin or not?" she asked calmly.

"I believe that you might know more information than you are letting on." Heihachi said as he began walking around the room.

"I really don't know what you are talking about." Julia said with sincerity. Suddenly, Heihachi looked at Dante and nodded. Dante stepped forward and sharply slapped once Julia across her face. Julia recoiled from the slap, and Dante smirked. Julia looked at Dante with unconcealed loathing, and Heihachi laughed.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Trust me, you should cooperate because it would be a shame to damage any part of your beautiful skin." Heihachi said as he ran his hand along Julia's waist and down to her hips. Julia shuddered, but kept a brave face. Then Heihachi began tracing the lining of her full lips when suddenly Julia bit his index face with the fervor of an angry lioness. Heihachi pulled back his finger and laughed.

"This one is feisty! My grandson must have his hands full with you. However, if you don't tell me what I want to know about Jin, I will personally make sure that you never see him again." Heihachi threatened with an evil laugh.

"Make sure she stays put, Dante. I have some other business to attend to." Heihachi said to Dante as he opened the door. As the door shut with a hollow thud, Julia's eyes turned to Dante. His cold, indifferent facial expression suddenly turned into a twisted grin. A thought suddenly crossed Julia's mind; if she was going to escape, now was the time. An escape plan started formulating in her brain.

"Well, it looks like we are going to be spending quite a bit of time together. Alone." Julia said with a flirty smile. Dante walked over to Julia with his smile getting wider by the second.

"What should we do to pass the time?" Dante said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I can think of one thing we can do, but it requires that you untie me." Julia purred. Dante immediately looked conflicted.

"I'm not sure about that." he said slumping his shoulders.

"Why is that? Are you afraid of little ol' me?" Julia teased. Dante puffed out his chest, and started to untie Julia's hands.

"I'm not afraid of anything, least of all you." Dante stated confidently. Julia smiled as she turned to face Dante. She gently brushed her fingertips along his face and stopped at his throat.

"Are you ready to have some fun?" she said seductively. Dante nodded his head eagerly. Julia let out a low snicker. Suddenly, she punched Dante in his Adam's apple with such force that he flew against the wall. He fell to his knees, coughing and unable to catch his breath. Julia delivered a kick to Dante's ribs that sent him airborne. He landed on his back, unconscious.

"You should have left me tied up." Julia said smugly. She slowly opened the door, and peeked out into the hallway. She didn't see anyone, so she proceeded to walk quietly down the hallway. _'Where am I? Its like another world.' _she thought as she observed her surroundings. There was lots of Asian-style artifacts along the long corridor. Every sign on the walls looked like Japanese. Julia kept walking, and checking over her shoulder every few seconds. Finally, she turned a corner and noticed a door that was ajar. She carefully opened the door wider and saw that there was no one inside the room. As she entered the room, she realized that it was a surveillance room. There was a long table with many television monitors. Julia began to study the monitors, and she noticed that they all said the word Zaibatsu on them. '_Zaibatsu? Oh no. I'm in the Mishima Zaibatsu?' _she thought nervously. Julia suddenly realized that escape might be harder than she had originally thought. As she was mentally calculating her chances of getting out alive, she noticed movement on one of the monitors. Jin Kazama was entering the Zaibatsu from a door that was hidden in a wall. Julia felt a sudden swell of emotion. She felt comforted to know that he was nearby, but she also felt scared that she might not get an opportunity to warn him. He needed to know that his grandfather was going to extreme lengths to get some kind of information about him. He also needed to know that they had to get out of the Zaibatsu before Heihachi found them both. Julia quickly headed back through the door to find Jin before it was too late. Just as she passed through the door frame, a bloodcurdling scream escaped her lips as she felt an electric shock invade her body. Heihachi was standing in the hallway, and he was holding an electric taser that Julia had the misfortune of running into. Julia's eyes rolled back into her head as she hit the ground. Heihachi laughed as he pulled the taser away from Julia's stomach.

"Take her downstairs and chain her up. Let's make sure she's ready to welcome Jin." Heihachi said with his signature sinister grin.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading my latest chapter. Please read and review =) Stay tuned for chapter ten...The plot thickens...Will Jin rescue Julia in time?...What more does Heihachi have planned?...

XOXO,

Nina


	10. Chapter 10: Rage of the Devil Within

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its awesome characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Ten- Rage of the Devil Within**

Jin emerged silently from the dark corridor. _'That corridor would just have to lead to the Zaibatsu. Heihachi is obviously behind Julia's disappearance.' _he concluded to himself. He shook his head in disgust. It did not surprise him that Heihachi was behind this. His grandfather was forever searching for opportunities to hurt him. Somehow, Heihachi had discovered Jin's weakness for Julia._ 'I vow to kill whomsoever lays a finger on Julia.' _Jin thought. He continued walking furtively along a long hallway. Jin stopped abruptly at a point in the hallway that broke off into four different directions. Suddenly, a shrill, earsplitting scream reached Jin's ears. The scream was so horrifying that it caused Jin's hair to stand on end more than it usually did. _'Oh no, Julia!' _Jin thought in panic. Jin broke into a sprint in the direction that the scream had come from. _'Please, don't let me be too late._' he thought as he ran as fast as he could.

Julia was brought to an enormous room with many thick concrete columns. The two men carrying Julia began to chain her to a wall since she was still unconscious from the electric taser.

"She's alot heavier than she looks, huh?" said Dante with a laugh.

"Maybe we should wake her up." said the other man with patronizing smile. Dante began snickering maliciously as they had finished chaining Julia's arms above her head.

"Sure. Let's have some fun with her until Heihachi gets back. She promised me a good time earlier, and I'm going to take her up on that offer." Dante said while rubbing his throat where Julia had punched him.

"Julia, despierta, mi amor*." said the other man while he patted her face a few times.

"Here, let me try." Dante said as he punched Julia in the stomach. Julia's head suddenly snapped up as she began coughing painfully. As she struggled to catch her breath, she looked up and noticed that her hands were chained together above her head. She opened her eyes wider when she had realized who was standing in front of her.

"Antonio? What are you doing here?" Julia asked while gasping for air. Antonio smirked, and lifted his index finger to Julia's lips.

"You should have danced with me instead of Jin. Maybe I could have helped you with your present predicament, but to reiterate, it is your loss." Antonio stated in a sarcastic voice.

"Enough talking. Let's hurry before Heihachi comes back." Dante said as he stepped closer to Julia.

"What are you going to do?" Julia asked in a quiet voice. A switchblade suddenly appeared in Dante's hand.

"Shh. I don't want to ruin the surprise." Dante said as he began slicing Julia's dress. Dante made a few cuts and Julia's mangled red dress fell to the floor. Julia stood there in just her bra and underwear. Instantly, Julia knew exactly what was going to happen next. Then another thought floated into her mind. _'I need to distract them_.' she thought. Desperately, she fished in her mind for a sarcastic comment to make.

"This is pathetic. You are both so intimidated by me that you had to chain me up? Hilarious." Julia said with a smug smile. Both Antonio and Dante exchanged surprised looks. They turned to look back at Julia at the same time.

"You are hardly intimidating, Ms. Chang." Dante said with an edge to his voice.

"Somehow, I doubt that, ladies." Julia said in a biting tone. She was unleashing one of her best weapons: her sarcasm.

"You better shut up before I shut you up." Antonio threatened. Julia rolled her eyes. She could tell that she was starting to get to them.

"Oh, please. Its very obvious that you two are incompetent, pathetic wastes of space. You actually had to chain me up since it was apparent that you both would get your asses handed to you by a girl. And you call yourselves men." Julia said with a cruel smile.

"Basta*!" Antonio bellowed as he retrieved a roll of duct tape from a bag on the floor. He tore a piece of tape from the roll and placed it over Julia's mouth.

"It's such a shame to cover up such beautiful lips, but you asked for it, mi amor*." Antonio said as he planted a kiss on Julia's cheek. Julia looked at Dante and Antonio with unconcealed fury. Dante started laughing as he strolled closer to Julia.

"Now, what was it that you were saying earlier? That I was incompetent?" Dante asked as he punched Julia in the ribs. Julia noticeably winced from the impact.

"Did I hear you say that I was pathetic?" Dante sneered as he landed a punch to Julia's jaw. Julia screamed but the sound was muffled by the duct tape that covered her mouth.

"What's that? I can't hear you. You need to speak up." Dante said as he took the knife and made a long cut along her left bicep. More muffled screams erupted from Julia as warm blood began to trickle down the left side of her body. Dante laughed loudly, but Antonio kept nervously looking behind him towards a dark corridor.

"Hurry up, Dante. I've got a bad feeling about this." Antonio said in a anxious voice. Dante playfully punched Antonio in the arm.

"Relax. Here comes the best part. I'm going to show her just how much of a man I am." Dante said as he used the knife to cut Julia's underwear off. Julia opened her eyes as wide as they would go.

"No! No!" she screamed into the duct tape as she clamped her legs together. Dante grinned crookedly as he unzipped his pants.

"Calm down, Ms. Chang. You're shaking like a leaf." Dante said as he tried to pry Julia's legs open.

"Do you think she's scared because she is a virgin?" Antonio asked skeptically. Julia suddenly looked at Antonio, and the terror in her eyes answered his question. Dante saw the expression in Julia's eyes, and grinned widely. He momentarily stopped fighting to open Julia's legs.

"Julia Chang, a virgin? This is too delicious. I'm going to enjoy this even more. I love being first." Dante said maliciously as he continued trying to open Julia's legs. Suddenly, Antonio heard the approach of running footsteps. Then there was a loud, guttural snarl. Dante abruptly turned, and saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the dark corridor.

"Who's there? Show yourself." Dante yelled angrily. Julia looked over at the entrance to the dark corridor, and what she saw caused her to faint from shock. A creature with horns, huge black wings, and black markings on its body emerged from the corridor.

"What the...?" Dante began to say but the creature let out a horrible screeching noise as a lightning bolt shot out from its forehead and struck Antonio's body. Antonio screamed as the lightning pulsed through his body, electrocuting him. Dante began screaming as Antonio's body flailed around violently. Suddenly, an overwhelming, burning smell enveloped the room as the creature abruptly stopped electrocuting Antonio. Antonio's lifeless body fell to the floor with a hollow thud. Dante suddenly couldn't control his stomach, dropped to his knees, and regurgitated. When he was done, Dante looked up to see the creature towering over him.

"Please, don't kill me." Dante begged. The creature grabbed Dante by his shirt collar and pulled him up to a standing position. Dante looked at the creature's face. He then realized that he recognized the creature.

"Kazama Jin?" Dante asked in terrified voice. Devil Jin smiled evilly as he grabbed Dante's head with his other hand and snapped his neck. Dante's head flopped forward and Devil Jin tossed his body to the ground. Devil Jin turned his attention to Julia. She was unconscious and the blood was still flowing from her arm. He carefully unchained her wrists, and caught her before she fell forward. As he scooped her into his arms, he rested her head against his chest. He glanced down at her bruised face, and felt another wave of anger wash through him. He flapped his wings and flew towards the ceiling. As he held Julia close to his body, Devil Jin burst through the ceiling and flew out into the dark, starry night.

*Spanish words translated:

Despierta- wake up

Mi amor- my love

Basta- Enough

Author's note: Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope that you liked it =) I'm working on chapter eleven right now since I'm stuck inside my house because of a crazy snowstorm. At the moment, my house literally looks like a white powdered donut XD LOL. Next chapter PREVIEW: Julia discovers that there is a whole other side to Jin that he has kept hidden. Jin confesses his true feelings to Julia, but does she feel the same way? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	11. Chapter 11: Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Eleven- Secrets Revealed**

Julia was sleeping peacefully in bed. She was the picture of ease, and she even had a slight smile playing on her lips. In her mind, she was dreaming. Vivid pictures and sounds played out like a movie in her mind. She was dreaming about Arizona. Julia was walking around in a gorgeous, lush forest. She smiled at the clear, blue sky above her. As she continued walking, she spotted a small rabbit eating a leaf. The rabbit sensed her approach and it stared at her. She smiled sweetly, and pulled off a leaf from a tree that was next to her. She showed the leaf to the rabbit, beckoning it to come closer to her. The rabbit began to go towards Julia to get the leaf in her hand. All of a sudden, the rabbit stopped in its tracks and ran away from Julia. Julia looked puzzled, just then she heard a horrible, screeching noise behind her. A creature with huge black wings, black markings all over its body, and enormous horns on its forehead was coming toward her.

"No! Stay away!" she screamed as she tried to defend herself. Julia was whimpering in bed and moving side to side.

"No...Leave me alone..." she moaned in her sleep. She rolled on to her arm that had been cut, and the onset of throbbing pain jerked her awake. She rubbed her groggy eyes with the heels of her hands. She looked up at a beam of sunlight that was streaming through a window behind her. Then it occurred to her that she was not in her hotel room. She sat up in bed with a start. Julia looked around the foreign room. The walls were adorned with beautiful paintings of nature and the room was accented with cherry-wood furniture. She looked down at herself and noticed that she was wearing a white silk robe. She ran her hand along the arm that was suddenly searing with pain. She felt that her arm was rough and bumpy underneath the white silk. Her arm had been wrapped up with a large bandage. Julia suddenly was deep in thought as she started trying to replay the events that had taken place. She remembered being chained up by Antonio and Dante, and she recalled when Dante had stabbed her in the arm. She then remembered seeing a creature emerging from the dark corridor, and then...nothing. It was as if there was a big hole in her memory. Julia then realized that she did not remember coming to this room, or bandaging her arm. Just then, her ears focused on the sound of splashing water outside. Julia stood up on the bed to look out of the window that was behind her. Outside she could see a calm lake surrounded by a beautiful garden. The lake had a few Asian-style statues around it, and Julia noticed that there was a pile of clothes hanging from a tree branch next to the water. Suddenly, Julia saw someone surface from under the water. Her breath caught in her throat as she witnessed Jin Kazama break through the surface of the lake. He shook his ink-black hair to rid it of excess water. He began to wade through the water, and started to step out of the lake.

"Oh...my..." Julia whispered as her eyes opened wider when she noticed that Jin was naked. Julia knew that she should avert her eyes, but she felt as if her eyes had other plans as she continued to stare at Jin's body. She watched as Jin walked over to the tree to retrieve a towel from its branches. Suddenly, Jin looked up and made eye contact with her through the window. Julia was so surprised that she hit her forehead on the top window pane.

"Ow!" she exclaimed while rubbing her head. Then she remembered that she had been seen by Jin. She darted off the bed, and ran for the door. She opened the door and immediately took a step back. Jin Kazama stood in the doorway with a halfway smirk on his face. This time he was wearing only a pair of loose fitting black pants with white draw strings.

"I can see that you are feeling better, but it looks like you hit your forehead pretty hard there." Jin said trying not to laugh. Julia reached up to feel an angry red bump forming on her forehead, but her cheeks were suddenly redder than her forehead.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry, I didn't see...much." Julia lied as she looked away embarrassed.

"Yeah, right. Well, I guess that we are even from what happened at the pool when we first met." Jin smiled sheepishly. Julia suddenly looked at Jin with a skeptical expression.

"Don't tell me that you are still thinking about what happened at the pool." she said as she crossed her arms across her chest. Jin looked perplexed.

"Is it wrong to be thinking about that?" Jin asked innocently.

"I guess you can't help being a man." Julia as she rolled her eyes.

"I think that you should be laying down, resting. Your arm is still healing." Jin said quickly changing the subject. Julia looked at Jin with surprise.

"I feel fine." she said as she tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her arm.

"I doubt that. Well, then sit down so that I can re-bandage your arm." Jin insisted.

"I said that I was fine, and I can bandage my arm myself." Julia said defiantly.

"Why are you so stubborn? Well, if you won't lay down voluntarily, I will make you." Jin threatened playfully. Julia took a step back.

"You wouldn't dare." Julia said quietly. Jin stepped forward and threw Julia over his shoulder and walked back to the bed. He gently placed her on the bed and walked to the dresser to get some first-aid supplies to bandage Julia's arm. Julia sat on the bed and stared at Jin with suspicious eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him as he sat down to re-dress her wound. Jin paused and looked at Julia in her eyes.

"Doing what? Helping you with your arm?" he answered with a surprised look on his face.

"No, not that. What am I doing here with you? In fact, where are we?" Julia asked curiously. Jin sighed and shrugged.

"We are in a safe place. I brought you to my house." Jin answered simply.

"Your house? How did I get out of the Mishima Zaibatsu?" Julia asked rapidly.

"How much do you remember about what happened in the Zaibatsu?" he asked calmly.

"Well, I remember being chained up by Antonio and Dante. I remember when Dante stabbed me and just when he was about to..." Julia stopped talking when she noticed Jin's hands were clenched into fists.

"When he was about to what?" Jin said as his fury revealed itself with every passing minute.

Julia remained silent. She didn't want to say the words aloud. Jin suddenly relaxed next to her.

"Then what happened?" asked Jin without looking at Julia.

"Well, that's where my memory gets hazy. I remember hearing a growl, and...this might sound crazy, but I think I saw a monster of some kind entering the room that I was chained up in. After that, I don't remember anything." Julia admitted in a rush. She looked at Jin, wanting him to look at her, but he wouldn't. She felt strangely guilty, as if all that had transpired was entirely her fault.

"Can you describe this monster that you saw?" Jin asked as he stood up, facing away from Julia.

"It had horns, black wings, and blazing red eyes." Julia answered while staring at the wooden floor.

"Did it have red eyes like these?" Jin asked as he turned towards Julia. Julia looked up at Jin, and her mouth fell open. His eyes glowed red just as the monster's eyes had.

"No...It was you..." Julia in a detached voice. Her hazel eyes bore into Jin's red eyes. She suddenly resembled a mouse caught in the eyes of a snake. Jin blinked and his eyes changed back to their normal color.

"How did you..."Julia began to ask.

"Julia, I want to be honest with you. There is a part of me that I keep hidden inside. I'll tell you the whole story if you want me to, but please promise me that you will make your final decision about me when I have finished explaining everything." Jin interrupted. He looked at Julia tentatively. Julia took a deep calming breath, and nodded once. Jin proceeded to tell Julia about his lineage, his parents, his grandfather, and the devil gene that he had inherited from his father. Julia listened politely and patiently to every word that Jin said. Jin suddenly took a deep breath.

"So...this is who I am." Jin said looking at Julia with growing uneasiness. Julia sat unmoving, and the tension in the room could have been cut with a knife.

"Julia, please. Say something. Your silence is killing me." Jin said as he looked at Julia with pleading eyes.

"Let me see if I'm understanding this correctly. You transformed into your devil alter ego when you saw me in trouble, and then I fainted." Julia said calmly. Jin nodded his head.

"So then what happened to Antonio and Dante after I fainted?" asked Julia carefully.

"I killed them." Jin answered simply. Julia looked at Jin with fear dancing in her eyes.

"Are you going to kill me too?" she asked in a strained voice. Jin looked shocked at the sheer terror on her face. He approached her slowly, and kneeled down in front of her.

"Julia, you are so important to me that I could never hurt you. I took care of Antonio and Dante because anyone who hurts you should not be allowed to live." Jin said with determination. Julia looked down at her hands; she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with Jin. Jin lifted his hand to coax Julia's face to look up at him, but Julia kept her eyes closed.

"Julia, please look at me. Are you really so frightened of me that you won't look at me?" Jin asked with sadness coating his voice. Julia's hazel eyes suddenly fluttered open. Fresh tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes.

"I am not afraid of you." Julia said with sincerity.

"Then why are you crying?" Jin asked as he tried to wipe away her tears with his hand.

"I just was thinking that if you hadn't saved me from the Zaibatsu...I don't know how to thank you" Julia admitted while struggling to keep her voice steady.

"I would do anything for you. I love you, Julia Chang." Jin said as he bent his head to kiss Julia on the lips.

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! Since Valentine's Day is next week, I felt the urge to add some much needed fluff to my story. I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter =)

XOXO,

Nina


	12. Chapter 12: The Forbidden Fruit

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Twelve- The Forbidden Fruit **

Julia suddenly pulled away from Jin's lips. He looked at her with surprise.

"What's wrong, Julia?" he asked curiously. Julia bit her lips. Her usually confident demeanor was suddenly as nervous as a turkey on Thanksgiving.

"Jin, I..." Julia was unsure of how to begin. Jin suddenly looked concerned.

"Just say what is on your mind." his voice flowed soothingly like honey as he tried to reassure her.

"Jin, I can't do this." Julia said as she stood up from the bed.

"You can't do what?" he asked even though he could tell where this conversation was going. Julia was standing up, facing away from Jin. She felt that it was slightly easier to talk to him when she wasn't looking at him. When she looked into Jin's deep brown eyes, she was instantly distracted from whatever she had been thinking at the moment.

"You and me. We can't do this. I cannot be what you want me to be." Julia said as she silently prayed that Jin would believe the lie. There was a very prevalent part of her that longed to be with Jin. That part of her wanted to turn around and say, _'Yes, Jin. I want you. Make me yours!_'

However, the headstrong part of her was in control, and that part of her was not backing down. Jin stood up, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't believe you. If you are telling the truth, look me in the eyes, and tell me that you don't want me." Jin challenged. Julia sighed. _'This isn't working. He can see right through me. I have to lie better.' _she thought to herself. She took a deep breath, and turned around._ 'I can do this. I can't let him get to me. I have to stay in control.' _she thought desperately. It was too late. Jin's eyes were like pools of milk chocolate that Julia wanted to bathe in. She started biting her lips again, and Jin began to smile triumphantly._ 'I knew she was lying. She wants me just as bad as I want her.' _he thought happily. Suddenly, Jin went in to steal another kiss from Julia. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer as their kiss deepened. Julia's body started betraying her as she kissed Jin back. Her hands moved greedily to stroke his angelic face. She suddenly had a million thoughts running at top speed through her mind. '_I need to stop this before this gets more physical. Oh, but he is such a great kisser! Focus, Chang. If you don't pull yourself together, you can kiss winning the tournament goodbye. Still, somehow this feels so right. It's almost like my body knows that Jin is the only man I'm supposed to be with...Wake up! Stop this now, or lose the tournament!' _Julia's internal struggle raged on until she abruptly kneed Jin in the groin. Jin broke away from Julia as he doubled over in pain.

"Oh, God! What did you that for?" Jin said in a voice that was slightly higher than his usual tone. Julia wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

"Because you obviously didn't hear me when I said that you and me cannot be together. You should have kept your lips off of mine, Kazama. That is considered sexual harassment." Julia said while crossing her arms across her chest. Jin was on his knees, holding his special area as he looked up at Julia with a grimace on his face.

"Its not sexual harassment when the other party involved is kissing back." he said in a strained voice.

"How typical. You men are all alike. You think that no really means yes, and that 'leave me alone' means 'take me, I'm yours.' "Julia sneered as Jin struggled to stand.

"Okay, I get it. You don't want to be with me, but I want to know why that is." Jin said as he hoisted himself onto the bed. Jin immediately relaxed as his back hit the mattress. Julia stood next to the bed, and looked down at Jin's serene form.

"You are just trying to distract me. I'm not falling for your 'good guy lovey-dovey' routine. You don't want me to win the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Well I've got some news for you, I am not impressed. I'm going to compete in the tournament, and I will win. You will not keep me from achieving my ultimate goal." Julia stated with sincerity. Jin sat up in bed with an angry look on his face.

"You think that this is all an act? You couldn't be further from the truth. I have meant every word that I said to you." Jin said in a severe tone. Julia scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. See you in the ring, Kazama." she said in a harsh voice.

"That is assuming that you even make it far enough in the tournament to face me." Jin said sarcastically.

Julia proceeded to leave Jin's house as she called a cab service to take her back to the hotel. As Jin watched her leave, he felt a sudden sense of superiority. _'Who does she think she is? I profess my love for her and what does she do? She accuses me of being insincere and distracting her from the tournament. How dare she!' _Jin thought angrily. '_Well, I'm glad that she is gone. Forget her then.'_ he thought as he turned to lay down in the bed. Suddenly, he groaned loudly. _'How can I forget about her when my bed smells like her? I can smell the sweet scent of her skin on my sheets.' _Jin thought as he closed his eyes and could only think of Julia.

As Julia made her way back to the hotel, she suddenly brushed her fingers against her lips. Her lips still tingled from her kiss with Jin. There was only one word that Julia felt best suited how Jin's lips felt on her mouth: addictive. In fact, as Julia continued thinking about Jin, she felt herself melting into a million pieces. '_This is dangerous. I like Jin more than I should. I must stay away from him at all costs.' _she decided in her mind. As the taxi pulled up to the hotel, Julia quickly paid the cab fare and stepped out of the taxi. She entered the hotel, and started walking towards the gym area. Julia needed to train for the tournament since it was starting the next day. She entered the gym and saw many of the other competitors training as well. She observed that everyone else was practicing with an intensity that was tangible. Julia walked into the punching bag room, and began unleashing an aggressive attack on one of the punching bags.

Julia began to feel fatigue tugging at her muscles. She looked up at the clock and realized that she had been training non-stop for three hours. She decided that she should take some time to rest before she overexerted herself. As Julia walked out of the punching bag room, she noticed that the rest of the gym was deserted. Then as she was about to exit the gym area, she spied a sauna room on the other side of the gym. She decided that a sauna sounded too good to resist, and she headed to the ladies locker room to undress. Inside the locker room, Julia found an empty locker with the key hanging on its door. All of the lockers were stocked with towels of different sizes and a pairs of flip-flops. She quickly took off the robe that she had gotten from Jin's house, and wrapped a towel around herself. She slid on a pair of flip-flops and headed to the sauna room. Julia left her flip-flops outside the door of the sauna, and opened the heavy door. The inside of the sauna was so warm and inviting. She sat down and started to relax. Suddenly, the sauna's door opened. Christie Monteiro peeked her head inside the room.

"Well, here you are Julia! Mind if I join you?" Christie said as she opened the door wider.

"Sure. Come on in." said Julia relived that it was Christie and no one else.

"So, what happened to you at the club? You've been M.I.A. for nearly two days." Christie asked as she sat down next to Julia.

"Its a long story." Julia sat as she tilted her head back trying to relax.

"Well, Xiao and I were worried about you, but then Jin called Xiao yesterday and told her that you had been with him the whole time." Christie said with a smile. Julia suddenly looked at Christie with raised eyebrows.

"Jin called Xiao and said what?" she asked with a bewildered expression on her face.

"He said that you left the club with him and then you went with him to his house." Christie said with a mischievous smile. _'Jin must have been trying to cover up the kidnapping. Well, the less Xiao and Christie know about that, the better. Its for their own safety.' _she concluded to herself.

"So tell me Julia, did you get to see any of Jin's house or just his bedroom?" Christie teased. Julia stared at Christie in the same way that a deer stares at a car's headlights.

"That's not what happened." protested Julia. Christie playfully elbowed Julia in the ribs.

"Sure, Julia. What were you two doing then? Playing checkers? Watching soap operas?" Christie said with a giggle. Julia's cheeks were a burning red.

"Where is Xiaoyu?" Julia said changing the subject.

"She is rehearsing for the showcase that she will be representing China with. Did you decide if you wanted to help me represent Brazil, or not?" Christie said expectantly. Julia pursed her lips, and suddenly stood up.

"Yes, I will help your with your presentation. Maybe we should get started now." she said as she pulled Christie to her feet. Christie's expression brightened with excitement.

"Okay, let's go rehearse in my room. We've got to hurry because the opening ceremonies are tomorrow!" Christie took Julia by the hand and led her out of the sauna room. They quickly slid on their sandals and dashed out of the gym. Everyone in the lobby stared at them as they made their way to the elevators. Clad only in towels and flip-flops, Christie and Julia summoned the elevator and waited for its arrival as everyone's eyes bore into their backs. The elevator opened, and Julia suddenly clutched the towel around her body even tighter. Jin Kazama exited the elevator with raised eyebrows. Julia's cheeks were on fire once again as he studied her in a towel. Christie pushed past Jin and pressed the button to her floor.

"Come on, Julia. We have alot of work to do. I still have to teach you the routine." Christie said snapping Julia out of her trance. Julia broke eye contact with Jin as the elevator doors closed.

_'Routine? This is I have to see.' _Jin thought sardonically as he watched the elevator doors close.

Author's note: Many thanks for the reviews! Please keep them coming =) Next chapter PREVIEW: Its time for the tournament to start, and the opening ceremonies will begin. Julia and Christie have to work fast to prepare their presentation. Can Julia pull this off? Jin is still trying to get Julia's attention. How will he prove that his feelings for Julia are real? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	13. Chapter 13: All That Glitters

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Thirteen- All That Glitters**

Julia felt her heart beating faster than usual as she placed a large, glittering, feathered headdress on top of her head. She was inside of a dressing room making some last minute adjustments to her samba costume. Outside of the dressing room, she could hear many people scrambling about backstage as they prepared for the start of the tournament's opening ceremonies. There were various unique showcases to represent the diverse countries involved in the tournament. Julia and Christie were to perform along with Eddy Gordo. Julia was astonished to find that learning the samba wasn't as difficult as she had previously thought. She studied her reflection in the mirror. She did not recognize the woman staring back at her. Julia's costume was both beautiful and elaborate. Her halter-style bikini top was shaped like flames. Different shades of red and orange sequins adorned her top. Her bikini bottoms were also shaped like flames in the front and back with a few strings of beads connecting them across her hips. She had long red, orange, and brown feathers attached to her back that resembled wings. The feathers on her back matched the feathers in her headdress. She even had red and orange feathered sequined covers on her shins that connected to the golden high heeled sandals on her feet. As Julia was slathering on some body glitter, she heard a knock on the dressing room door.

"Who is it?" Julia called with uncertainty.

"It's Christie." was the answer on the other side of the door. Julia turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

"Oh, Julia! You look awesome!" Christie exclaimed as Julia opened the door wider.

"Shh! Remember we have a deal. No one is supposed to know that I am performing with you." Julia said as she pulled Christie inside the room with her. Christie rolled her eyes at Julia as she handed her a mask.

"I know, I know. Here's the mask that I promised you. Although, I think it is such a shame to hide your face when you look so great." Christie said with her face showing her disapproval.

"Wow, you look amazing, Christie!" said Julia as she subtly changed the subject. Christie's lips stretched into a wide grin.

"You think so?" said Christie as she twirled around so that Julia could admire her outfit. Christie's costume was varying shades of blue. She also wore a feathered headdress like Julia's, only hers was blue and silver. It had deep cobalt blue feathers mixed in with light aqua blue feathers. Christie also wore blue feathers on her back, and she wore blue and silver sequined triangle-shaped bikini top and bottom. Christie also wore blue feathered sequined covers on her shins with silver high heeled sandals. Julia nodded in approval.

"Has Eddy seen you in your costume yet?" Julia asked as she put on the red and gold sequined mask. The mask rested on the middle of her nose and on her cheekbones. Julia breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that she was nearly unrecognizable in the mask. Her eyes seemed unknown to her as they peaked out through the slits in the mask.

"No, he hasn't. Why do you ask?" answered Christie as she pretended to busy herself with straightening her headdress in a mirror.

"Well, I saw how you were talking to him when he came up to your room. You were so nervous. I thought that you were going to faint at any moment." Julia teased. Christie shrugged as she began applying some rhinestones around her eyes.

"And this is coming from the girl who is hiding behind a mask?" Christie asked with a laugh.

"Ah. Point taken." said Julia sheepishly. Just then, they both heard the sound of a gong.

"The ceremony is starting. Let's go take a peak at the stage." Christie said excitedly. Julia followed after Christie. They both hid in the wings of the stage's curtains. Julia was admiring the starry sky above the open arena.

"Isn't that Jin sitting in the front row?" Christie whispered to Julia. Just the mention of Jin's name was enough to bring Julia from marvelling at the Heavens, to crashing back down to Earth.

"What?" Julia said as she rapidly scanned the front row. Sure enough, Jin Kazama was there sitting front and center. He was wearing a long shelve black button-down collared shirt over some jeans. He was also wearing dark sunglasses and his arms were folded across his chest. His expression was as unreadable as a poker face. Julia's stomach suddenly felt like she had just swallowed a jar full of butterflies. _'Why is he here? I think that he secretly enjoys tormenting me.'_ Julia thought nervously. She shook her head to rid herself of the sudden wave of anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her. Julia straightened her shoulders, and turned to Christie.

"Why should it matter if he is in the front row? I don't care what he thinks." Julia said in a voice so convincing that she almost believed the lie that just escaped her lips. Christie looked Julia with a dubious expression, then she playfully nudged Julia in the arm.

"Well, at least you are wearing that mask. Jin won't even know that its you." Christie said in a carefree tone.

"That's reassuring." said Julia as she adjusted her mask on her face.

"However, that mask might draw more attention to you. A mysterious woman in a mask could be seen as intriguing, not inconspicuous." Christie said as she pursued her lips. Julia felt a shiver travel down her spine as she considered Christie's logic.

Julia's ears echoed with powerful drumming as she peaked out from the stage's curtain to watch Xiaoyu's performance. Xiaoyu and several others were putting on a fantastic showcase to represent China. Xiaoyu was performing her martial arts routine as Chinese acrobats were flipping in the air to her left and right. Suddenly, the drummers began pounding their large drums faster and faster as Xiaoyu did a series of back flips along with the acrobats. Julia watched as Xiaoyu and the acrobats landed their final back flips. In perfect timing with their landings, a brilliant firework display shot up into the starry night above the open arena.

"Are you ready? It's our turn now." a deep, masculine voice said from behind Julia. Julia turned around to see a tall, dark-skinned man standing next to Christie. He wore a pair of loose fitting light brown pants. He also had lime green arm bands with emerald green feathers.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." answered Julia nervously.

"Okay, just remember that you two come out right after I do a back flip and the fire shoots up from the columns on the sides of the stage." said Eddy while winking at Christie. Christie smiled back in a flirty way and batted her heavy false eyelashes. Julia rolled her hazel eyes at Christie and Eddy as she adjusted her mask for the final time before their performance began.

Eddy walked behind the stage's main curtain to wait for his cue to start his capoeria. Julia and Christie waited in the wings of the stage, on opposite sides from each other. The main curtain began to rise as the first few notes of a song played on the arena's sound system. Eddy began performing his capoeira routine as soon as a male voice started singing in Portuguese from the song. Eddy's capoeira moves were very smooth and fluid. The audience seemed to be entranced with his dance-like moves. Suddenly, Eddy did a dramatic back flip and fire shot up along the sides of the stage giving the arena a hypnotic glow. Julia and Christie recognized their cue to enter the stage, and they proceeded to enter the stage from the left and right. The drumming got louder and louder as they sauntered onto the stage. Julia swayed her hips to the intoxicating samba beat. Her anxiety seemed to melt away as she heard the audience's cheers. Her feet suddenly had a mind of their own as she started dancing with a new-found intensity. Christie had a huge smile on her face as she danced to the fast-paced tempo of the song. Julia smiled confidently as she began twirling around in a circle. Suddenly, as she was twirling around, she noticed that she somehow had ended up dancing directly in front of Jin Kazama. Her heart seemed to stop momentarily as he removed his sunglasses to stare open-mouthed at her. His expression looked like a cross between shock and awe. She smirked as she proceeded to turn her back on Jin so that he could admire her backside. Julia danced along the side of the stage as the tempo of the song started to slow down. Julia and Christie joined Eddy in the center of the stage to strike a pose as the song's last notes played. As the song ended, the Brazilian flag was projected above their heads with green, blue, and yellow lasers. The audience stood on their feet and erupted in applause. Julia, Christie, and Eddy took their bows as they began to walk back towards the backstage area. Suddenly, there was a loud murmuring coming from the audience. Julia was just about to turn around to see what was the cause for all of the commotion, when she felt something hit her hard on the left side of her midsection. Before Julia knew what was happening, she found herself flat on her back on the stage and someone was trying to pry the mask off of her face.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Please continue reading and reviewing =) Sorry about the delay on this chapter. This chapter had a lot of colorful descriptions to write, and that took awhile. I realize that the characters seem a bit OOC from their normal game personalities but that's all part of the story. Just in case anyone was curious about the song that Julia, Christie, and Eddy were performing to, its called "Magalenha" by Sergio Mendes. If you have never heard it before, look it up. Its one of my favorite songs! I will try to put up the next chapter quickly. Until then, here's a preview of chapter fourteen. NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW: Julia is unmasked as the mystery samba dancer, but the great reveal is not on her terms. Old enemies and new grudges come to light. The tournament has started, and Julia faces her first opponent. What will the outcome be? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	14. Chapter 14: Playing With Fire

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Fourteen- Playing With Fire**

_**(Scene 1- On stage, after the performance)**_

Julia's mask flew off her face with an angry snap. Julia looked up to see Hwoarang on top of her with her freshly torn mask in his left hand. Hwoarang's brown eyes were dancing wickedly as his lips twisted into a malicious smirk. Fury suddenly colored Julia's facial features, but before she could throw Hwoarang off of her, he was suddenly flying through the air. It was so quick that Julia wasn't sure how Hwaorang went from being on top of her, to falling flat on his back below the stage. Julia blinked and looked up to see Jin Kazama standing over her, extending his hand to help her up. She took his hand quickly and stood up. Julia began trying to take her hand back from Jin when he suddenly started holding Julia's hand slightly more firmly in his. Julia felt very embarrassed that she had been unmasked in front of him and she refused to look Jin in his eyes. Jin took his other hand and brushed away some strands of Julia's hair that had fallen in her face. Julia closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky breath as Jin's hand brushed past her left cheekbone. Finally, Julia opened her bright hazel eyes to look back at him. Jin and Julia staring staring at each other so intently that they seemed to forget that other people were in the arena with them. Julia looked into Jin's deep brown eyes, and for a moment, nothing else was in focus except for Jin and herself. Their perfect moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud groan that came from below the stage. Hwoarang hoisted himself back onto the stage.

"What was that for, Kazama?" Hwoarang demanded angrily.

"I should asking you the same question, Hwoarang. What exactly were you doing attacking Julia like that?" Jin asked through clenched teeth.

"I just had to know who the sexy masked woman was. By the way, Julia, great performance. But I think it would have been better if you had no clothes on." taunted Hwoarang. Julia felt Jin's body become tense next to her.

"Say another word, Hwoarang, and it will be your last." threatened Jin as his nostrils flared.

"Come on, Kazama. I dare you. Hey, Julia, maybe you can come to my hotel room later to give me a private dance." Hwoarang said while laughing evilly. Jin was about to charge at him when security guards moved onto the stage.

"There will be no fighting at this time. Save it for the tournament." one of the guards said. Jin looked even more furious since he wasn't allowed to fight Hwoarang at the moment. Jin and Julia turned to start walking off the stage. Before they reached the curtains, Julia felt a pinch on her bottom. Julia's fury hit a boiling point. She turned around and hit Hwoarang right in the stomach with her famous twin arrow move. Hwoarang rolled away and hit the bottom of the stage for the second time in one night. Jin looked at Julia with raised eyebrows.

"He was asking for it." Julia said as she shrugged her shoulders. Jin laughed in a carefree way as he escorted Julia backstage. Julia suddenly stopped at the dressing room.

"You go on ahead. I want to change out of this outfit before I go back to the hotel." said Julia as she turned the dressing room's doorknob. Jin looked at her skeptically.

"No, I will wait for you so that we can go to the hotel together. I don't want to leave you alone with Hwoarang lurking around." said Jin honestly. Julia looked at Jin incredulously.

"That's not necessary, Jin. I can take care of myself." said Julia with her tenacity rising up again. Jin had his arms folded across his chest as his poker face made a comeback.

"That was not a request. You can go change your clothes, and I will wait for you outside the dressing room." Jin said in a stern tone. Julia sensed that this would turn into an argument, and she had no energy left to argue.

"Fine." Julia said simply as she entered the dressing room and closed the door.

"He is so bossy." Julia said under her breath as soon as she closed the door.

"I heard that." Jin responded on the other side. Julia gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. _'Bossy and a good listener. What a rare find_.' she thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. Julia started peeling off her samba costume piece by piece. She found herself smiling as she put on her denim miniskirt and a red halter top. She also found herself hurrying to finish getting dressed so that she could be with Jin again. '_What am I doing? I have to focus. The tournament is starting.' _she thought to herself. She realized that as much as she wanted to be with Jin, it wasn't possible as long as she was a competing against him in the tournament. She gathered her messenger bag and walked towards the back of the dressing room to exit through another door.

"Sorry, Jin. You'll just have to keep on waiting for me." she said as she exited the dressing room and slipped out into the night.

**_(Scene 2- Back at the hotel)_**

Julia walked along the sidewalk of the hotel, checking over her shoulder every minute or so. _'I'm starting to become paranoid just like Jin.' _she laughed to herself. As she entered the hotel, she noticed that there was a crowd gathered around a flat screen TV on a wall in the lobby. She was about to get on the elevator when she heard her name being called.

"Julia! Come here!" said a high-pitched female voice. Julia recognized Xiaoyu's voice immediately. Julia walked over to the crowd, and she spotted Xiaoyu.

"Hey, Xiao! What's going on?" Julia asked curiously.

"They are announcing who will compete against each other in the first round of the tournament." said Xiaoyu as she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"I saw your showcase performance. You were amazing, Xiao!" said Julia enthusiastically.

"Thanks, but you and Christie were phenomenal! I loved your costumes! Where did you get the idea for the design of the costumes?" Xiaoyu said all at once.

"Christie and I were supposed to represent the elements. She was ice and I was fire." said Julia with a smile.

"Wow, and was it your idea to dance directly in front of Jin?" Xiaoyu asked while winking at Julia. Julia's cheeks suddenly felt a fire of their own.

"Ling Xiaoyu will face Paul Phoenix." the announcer on the TV said in an informative manner as he read off the list of competitors.

"I'm glad that I'm fighting against Paul because I won't feel bad about beating him up." said Xiaoyu with a giggle.

"That's great. I can't wait to find out who I will face." said Julia calmly.

"Christie Monteiro will face Hwoarang. Jin Kazama will battle Marshall Law. Julia Chang will fight Anna Williams." the announcer stated matter-of-factly.

"This sounds like an interesting match-up." said Xiaoyu as she looked behind her.

"I agree. Well, I'm going to head upstairs to my room. I need to get some rest for tomorrow." said Julia as she involuntarily yawned. Julia bid Xiaoyu a good night as she headed towards the elevator. Julia was pressing the button to go to her room when she heard Xiaoyu exclaim,

"Jin! Guess what? You are going to fight Marshall Law tomorrow!" Xiaoyu announced happily. Julia didn't hear Jin's response since the elevator doors had closed. Julia began to relax as the elevator headed up to her room. As the elevator reached her floor, Julia felt strangely comforted. A hot shower and her warm bed sounded so good right now. Julia opened her door and walked inside her room. She quickly slipped out of her clothes and hopped into the shower. As she was finishing up her shower, she heard a knock on her door. She turned off the water and grabbed a robe that was hanging on a hook inside the bathroom.

"Who is it?" she asked as she walked up to the front door.

"Front desk." was the response on the other side of the door. Julia looked through the peep-hole in the door and she saw a hotel employee standing on the outside. Julia carefully opened the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Ms. Chang, but this just came for you." said the employee as he motioned to a bouquet of flowers that he was holding.

"Oh. Okay, thanks." Julia said as she accepted the flowers.

"Have a good evening." the hotel employee said as he walked back toward the elevators. Julia closed the door and started inspecting the flowers. They were beautiful, bright red Aster flowers. As Julia was running her fingers along the many smooth petals of the Asters, she noticed that there was a card inside the bouquet. Julia placed the flowers down and opened the card.

_**Every petal on the flowers represents a thought of you. You are the only one who can occupy my thoughts with wanting to be near you and annoyance at your tenacity all at the same time. I will continue waiting for you just as long as you don't keep me waiting outside of a dressing room again. -Jin**_

Julia looked at the flowers and realized that there were far too many petals to count. She held the card close to her heart and thought of Jin. _'How can ignore him when he does things like this? Jin isn't playing fair.' _Julia thought to herself. She put the card down, and got ready for bed. As she climbed into the large, comfy bed, she forced herself to think only of the tournament. That proved to be an impossible task since she found her own thoughts filled with Jin.

The shrill, unwelcome sound of an alarm clock disrupted Julia's peaceful sleep. She blinked her eyes a few times and looked at the clock next to her bed. It read 8:00 a.m. Suddenly, she remembered that she would be competing this morning in the tournament. She shot out of bed quickly, and began pulling her clothes out of her bag. Finally, she found her lucky green halter top and some jean shorts. Julia was almost finished putting her hair into two long, low braids when there was a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Julia called as she started putting her cowboys boots on.

"It's Xiaoyu, open up!" called Xiaoyu impatiently. Julia pulled open the door.

"Oh, good! You are ready! Let's go to the arena! The first fight starts in less than an hour!" said Xiaoyu with her voice bubbling with excitement.

"Sure, Xiao. Let me just grab my cowboy hat." Julia said as she placed the hat on her head and stepped out into the hallway.

"Are you ready for the tournament?" Xiaoyu asked as Julia locked her door.

"Yep, let's do this." Julia answered as they stepped into the elevator.

**_(Scene 3- In the arena)_**

The arena was full of spectators as Julia and Xiaoyu took their seats in the front row. All the competitors in the tournament had reserved seats in the front row to study each other's fighting styles. There were many different people in the audience from all walks of life. Julia must have heard at least 20 different languages being spoken in the crowd. Suddenly, a gong sounded and a voice spoke out of the arena's sound system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the King of Iron Fist Tournament. Today's first preliminary round will begin in 60 seconds." said the male announcer's voice. The arena erupted in applause and cheers. Julia looked to her left and observed Jin Kazama sitting on the opposite side of the arena. He didn't appear to see her. Julia directed her attention back to the arena's center, and she saw Christie emerging from a side gate.

"Round one: Christie Monteiro versus Hwoarang. FIGHT!" said the announcer.

"Go Christie!" shouted Xiaoyu loudly. Julia watched as Christie began using her capoeira to fight Hwoarang. She hoped that Christie's graceful capoeira moves would be enough to win the fight, but Hwoarang's taekwondo proved to be more than Christie could handle.

"Hwoarang wins! Next up, Julia Chang versus Anna Williams." called the announcer. Julia immediately stood up.

"You can do it, Julia!" encouraged Xiaoyu.

"Thanks, Xiao." said Julia as she walked to the center of the arena. Anna Williams sauntered to the center until she stood in front of Julia.

"Ready?" Anna sneered in a high pitched voice.

"Always." answered Julia smugly as she got into her fighting stance.

"Julia Chang versus Anna Williams. FIGHT!" the announcer called loudly. Anna swung her left leg towards Julia to knock her off balance, Julia neatly dodged it and landed a flash uppercut to Anna's jaw. Anna flew into the air and landed hard on her back. Julia broke into a sprint and headbutted Anna. Julia could hear the cheers of the audience, but she forced herself to focus only on her opponent. Anna jumped up and had a furious look on her face. Anna stepped towards Julia and performed her bloody scissors move on her. As Julia's body was about to drop to the ground, Anna managed to grab Julia's arm and spin her around to face the opposite way. Before Julia could react, Anna landed a roundhouse kick to Julia's head that knocked her down on her stomach. Julia tried to get up, but Anna started grinding her high heeled shoe into Julia's back. Julia moved one of her legs, and tripped Anna. Julia stood up quickly and grabbed hold of Anna and threw her. Anna got back up and started running towards Julia but Julia blocked Anna with a bow and arrow kick. As Anna tried to get up, Julia kept her down by hitting her with her elbows. Anna weakly tried once again to get up, and Julia delivered her twin arrows to Anna's abdomen. Anna flew on her back again, but this time she did not get up.

"Winner: Julia Chang! Next up, Jin Kazama versus Marshall Law." the announcer said as applause filled the arena. As Julia turned to walk back to her seat, Jin Kazama was standing near to the center of the arena, waiting for his match to start.

"You are a talented fighter." he said as she walked past him. Julia stopped and looked at Jin.

"Thanks the complement and for the flowers. They were beautiful." she said shyly as she dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Your welcome. By the way, I wanted to ask you, if perhaps, you would have dinner with me tonight." said Jin with a slight smile. Julia looked up at Jin with a look of surprise.

"Just think of it as a "congratulations" dinner for a successful first round. Will you go to dinner with me?" Jin asked smoothly.

"Miss? You're going to have to take your seat now." said a tournament official that had walked into the ring. Julia nodded as she turned to walk back to her seat.

"I'll have to get back to you about that, Jin. Good luck." said Julia as she walked out of the center of the arena.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and words of encouragement. I appreciate all of your input! I was feeling inspired, so this chapter practically wrote itself. Next chapter PREVIEW: Julia gets to see Jin fight, and realizes that he is a formidable opponent. Jin asks Julia to dinner. Will she accept his invitation, or keep up her tenacious façade? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	15. Chapter 15: Lovers and Fighters

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Fifteen- Lovers and Fighters**

_**(Scene 1- In the arena, after Julia's match)**_

Julia walked out of the ring and quickly took her seat next to Xiaoyu.

"Wow, Julia! You were great! What an awesome fight!" said Xiaoyu with her eyes lighting up as she smiled.

"Thanks, Xiao." Julia said as she slumped down in her seat to relax.

"Are you excited to watch Jin fight?" asked Xiaoyu in earnest. Julia cocked an eyebrow at Xiaoyu.

"What ever gave you that idea?" asked Julia in a nonchalant tone.

"Nothing, it's just that I thought that you would want to check out his fighting style. Its pretty intense." shrugged Xiaoyu trying to seem casual. _'She is trying to get me to admit how I feel about Jin. Better luck next time, Xiao.' _Julia thought to herself.

"Hmm...I'm mildly intrigued. Okay, I'll watch." said Julia as she sat up in her seat. Julia looked toward the center of the arena. She saw Jin face his opponent and get into a fighting stance. She halfway smiled to herself since she secretly had been wanting to see Jin fight. Julia watched Jin's opponent, Marshall Law get into his own fighting stance. She suddenly found herself hoping that Jin would be the victor. A bell dinged and the announcer came back on the arena's sound system.

"Jin Kazama versus Marshall Law. FIGHT!" the announcer called in a loud voice. The arena roared with cheers and jeers for the two fighters. Marshall Law approached Jin to throw the first punch. Jin neatly sidestepped Law and hit him with a Demon Paw in his ribs. Law staggered backwards and set his jaw in an intense scowl. Law moved faster towards Jin and managed to land a few kicks to Jin's upper body. Julia watched as Jin took control of the match as he began attacking Law with an intensity that made Julia's mouth involuntarily fall open. Jin's moves were as graceful as they were deadly. Julia began to realize that defeating Jin was no small task. Suddenly, Law looked very weak and Jin decided to seize this opportunity to perform one of his signature moves. Law tried in vain to block Jin's Fatal Lightning attack, the hit sent Law airborne out of the ring. Law landed with an audible thump on the ground, and Jin began smiling a confident smile as Law stayed down.

"Winner: Jin Kazama!" the announcer called over the applause and cheers that erupted inside of the arena. Julia remained quiet and still in her seat as everyone around her was on their feet cheering for Jin. She seemed to be the only person in the arena who wasn't standing up. She was lost in her own thoughts. _'Jin is a better fighter than I thought he would be. He must have a weakness. I need to find out how to defeat him.' _Julia's thoughts seemed to swirl inside of her mind as she tried to think of a way to win against Jin.

"Julia? Julia! Are you listening to me?" Xiaoyu's high pitched voice snapped Julia out of her internal monologue. Julia shook her head a few times and looked at Xiaoyu apologetically.

"Sorry, Xiao. What were you saying?" Julia asked as she tried to hide the fact that her thoughts remained occupied by Jin.

"I said, that its my turn to go fight. Wish me luck." said Xiaoyu excitedly.

"Good luck, Xiaoyu." said a familiar masculine voice from behind Julia. Julia didn't have to turn around to know that Jin Kazama was standing directly behind her. His sudden "appearing-out-of-nowhere" acts were becoming a daily routine.

"Thanks, Jin. See you two later." said Xiaoyu as she walked towards the center of the arena.

"Is this seat taken?" Jin asked Julia as he sat down next to her.

"It is now." Julia said as rolled her eyes.

"So, what did you decide?" Jin asked innocently

"About what?" Julia answered in a bored tone.

"Did you forget that I asked you to have dinner with me tonight?" said Jin incredulously.

"Oh, that." said Julia pensively. Suddenly, an idea drifted swiftly into Julia's mind. _'This is my chance to find a way to defeat him. I'll just act all flirty over a romantic dinner and he will tell me anything that I want to know. Sucker.' _Julia smiled widely as she realized that her plan would likely yield positive results.

"Well, yes or no?" asked Jin with an impatient look on his face. Julia blinked and composed herself.

"Yes. I would love to have dinner with you." Julia said in the sweetest voice that she could muster. Jin smiled a heartbreaking smile at her as he quickly stood up.

"Good. I'll be by your room at seven. See you then." he said as he turned to leave.

"I'm looking forward to it." Julia purred.

**_(Scene 2- At the hotel)_**

Julia glanced at the clock in her hotel room. It read 6:50 pm. _'Jin should be here soon. This should be an interesting night.' _Julia thought as she put on some crimson lipstick. As she adjusted the straps of her halter-style black dress, she could not stop smiling. Julia realized that she was more excited than necessary to spend time with Jin. _'Focus. Focus. This dinner is strictly for business, not pleasure.' _she reminded herself sternly. Suddenly, Julia heard her cell phone ring. She quickly darted across the room to answer it.

"Hello?" Julia said while trying to keep her voice even.

"Julia! It's Xiaoyu! Guess what? I just found out who will be fighting who tomorrow!" said Xiaoyu in the same breath.

"Really? Who are you fighting?" asked Julia curiously.

"I'm fighting Nina Williams, and you will be fighting Hwoarang." said Xiaoyu in an ominous voice.

"Excellent. This is one fight that I've been looking forward to." said Julia with a wicked smile. Just then, Julia heard a loud knock on the door.

"Xiao, I'll call you later. Someone is at the door." Julia said quickly as she hung up the phone. She slid on her black stiletto pumps as fast as she could and grabbed her purse as she turned the doorknob. Her bright smile turned into a dark scowl as she realized that Jin was not the person standing outside of her room. Hwoarang stood with his arms folded and an annoying smirk on his face.

"Well, you didn't have to get all dressed up just for me. The less clothes that you are wearing, the better." said Hwoarang rudely.

"Hwoarang. What an unwelcome surprise. To what do I owe this great annoyance?" sneered Julia.

"I just came by to wish you good luck for our match tomorrow. Trust me, you're going to need it." said Hwoarang with an evil laugh.

"You shouldn't be so willing to give your luck away. After tomorrow, you'll wish that you had kept some of it." retorted Julia as she shut her door behind her.

"Where are you going? You must be dressed up for a reason." Hwoarang observed.

"None of your business." said Julia as she started to walk toward the elevators. Hwoarang grabbed Julia's arm as she walked past him. Julia spun around kicked Hwoarang neatly in his jaw. Hwoarang wobbled backward and suddenly regained his footing. He looked at Julia with narrowed eyes, and there was an angry red mark on his face where Julia's stiletto heel had made contact. Before Hwoarang could charge at Julia, she felt someone else's presence behind her.

"Looks like I got here just in time." said Jin as he stood in front of Julia to block her from Hwoarang.

"Oh, I see what's going on here. Chang and Kazama, together. Well, don't get too comfortable, Julia. He won't be there in the ring with you tomorrow. It will be just you and me, and then it will be only me." said Hwoarang as he began to walk away from them. Julia rolled her eyes as Jin turned to face her.

"Well, let's get going before I decide to finish him." said Jin as he led the way to the elevators.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." said Julia as she walked behind him.

**_(Scene 3- At the restaurant)_**

Julia stared at Jin from across the candlelit table. Their date had taken an unexpected turn as Julia found that she was actually enjoying herself. Jin seemed at ease he did most of the talking the entire evening. Julia was listening to every word that he said, trying to pinpoint anything that she could use against him.

"You've been quiet for awhile. Are you okay?" asked Jin suddenly concerned.

"It's just that I wasn't expecting you to be like this. You seemed so fierce and focused in the ring." Julia admitted casually.

"Well, I'm just focused on winning." said Jin while shrugging his shoulders.

"Who will you fight tomorrow?" asked Julia nonchalantly.

"Yoshimitsu. That should be an easy match." said Jin as he took another sip of his red wine.

"Aren't you afraid that you might face an opponent that you won't be able to beat?" asked Julia with raised eyebrows.

"Not really." said Jin in an unconcerned tone.

"Don't you have a weakness?" Julia boldly asked as she leaned forward in her seat. Jin looked at her with surprise, then suddenly his facial features relaxed into a seductive grin.

"I thought that you would have discovered my weakness by now." he said in a smooth voice as he looked at Julia up and down. Julia leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. She suddenly got the suspicion that there was a some point that she was missing. Julia noticed that Jin was staring at her long bare legs. His gaze turned slowly back to her face, and she noticed that Jin had an unconcealed longing in his eyes. Julia began to sense the tension between herself and Jin, and she had to do something to stop it before things went any further.

"Well, I think its time that we headed back to the hotel. I need to rest for my match tomorrow." Julia said as she bit her lower lip. Jin sighed as he stood up. _'Way to ruin the moment, Chang_.' she thought irritably to herself.

_**(Scene 4- Back at the hotel)**_

Jin and Julia walked silently next to each other back to Julia's room. Neither of them knew what to say. As they stopped in front of Julia's room, she began digging in her purse for her room key. She finally retrieved it and opened the door. Before she entered the room, she turned around to face Jin.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening." Julia said politely as she avoided making eye contact with Jin. As Julia turned to walk into her room, Jin caught Julia's elbow and spun her back around. Jin put his other hand on Julia's waist and pulled her to closer to him. Suddenly, Jin pressed his lips firmly onto Julia's. This time Julia did not push him away, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Before you could say Tekken Tag Team Tournament, they entered the room with their lips still locked together and slammed the door behind them.

Author's Note: We all knew this was inevitable...Jin and Julia together! *Gasp* LOL. No worries, though. Since I rated my story T for Teen, there won't be any graphic details about the...um...things that they do =) Please review this chapter, I always value the input. I changed scenes a bit in this chapter, so I tried to clarify where the characters were. Next Chapter PREVIEW: Julia is visited by one of Jin's family members and learns that the path to true love will not be easy. Jin advances in the tournament and finds that his next opponent will be more difficult than he imagined. Julia faces Hwoarang in the ring and their match is anything but boring. Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	16. Chapter 16: Fighting Fire With Fire

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Sixteen- Fighting Fire With Fire**

_**(Scene One- Julia's dream sequence)**_

_'Where am I?' _Julia thought to herself as her eyes strained to adjust to her surroundings. She was in a foggy, lush forest. She looked up at the sky, and noticed that the sun was hiding behind many thick clouds. As she walked in this unknown forest, she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Julia continued walking since her feet seemed to know where they were going, but her mind was struggling to catch up. She listened to the extent of her ability, but the only noise she heard was the light rustling of her boots on the underbrush. Suddenly, Julia noticed a misty lake several paces in front of her. She stopped in front of the lake and tilted her face upward, so that the light mist could fall onto her face.

"I have been waiting for you." a voice suddenly interrupted Julia's momentary relaxation.

"Who's there?" Julia called out as she slipped into her defensive stance. Her eyes scanned the area surrounding the misty lake, but no one was there.

"I have been waiting for you." repeated the voice, this time it came from behind Julia. Julia whirled around, and gasped audibly. A pale, slight Asian woman was standing a few feet behind Julia. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress, had short black hair, and she wore a calm expression on her face. Julia sensed that there was no threat present as this unknown woman stood in front of her. Julia studied the woman's face; there was something familiar about her that Julia could not pinpoint. She looked into the woman's eyes that were beneath her light bangs, and suddenly an image of Jin flooded into her mind.

"Do you know who I am?" the woman asked softly.

"No. What's going on?" Julia responded bluntly.

"I am Jun Kazama, Jin's mother." the woman responded.

"But Jin told me that you died several years ago. How can you be talking to me if you are dead?" Julia asked with fear coloring her words.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to warn you." Jun said as she took a step towards Julia.

"Warn me about what?" said Julia as she took an involuntary step backward.

"I know that you and my son are together. If you intend to stay with him, you need to know that danger will follow wherever you go." Jun said seriously. Julia stopped and looked at Jun with raised eyebrows.

"Why do you say that?" Julia questioned suspiciously. Something about Jun told Julia that this was a menacing matter.

"Sadly, Jin has some enemies, and some are more ruthless than others. However, this puts you in a bit of a predicament because they might use you to get to him." Jun said as she hung her head in sadness. Julia shuddered as Jun's words began to sink in. She remembered when Heihachi used her to gain some information on Jin, and Julia had to admit that she was not willing to go through anything like that again.

"I won't let that happen." said Julia with determination.

"Jin's enemies will become your enemies, and you will always have to live life constantly looking over your shoulder." Jun added in a somber tone. Julia didn't know what to say. She felt as if the weight of Jun's words were about to crush her. A huge lump formed abruptly in her throat and suddenly breathing in and out became a difficult task. Julia clamped her eyes shut to push back the hot tears that were threatening to leak out of them.

"Do you love him?" Jun asked softly. Julia opened her eyes and anguish was evident on her face. Jun smiled in empathy as Julia's traitor tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Let no one separate you. You belong together." Jun said as everything disappeared in a blinding white flash of light.

_**(Scene Two- Back in Julia's hotel room, early morning)**_

Julia sat up in her bed with a start and took in a sharp, shaky breath. As she realized that she was back in her hotel room, she tightly hugged her knees to her chest. _'It was just a dream, but it felt so real_.' she thought to herself. Julia forced her breathing to return to normal as she looked at the clock to her right. It read 5 a.m. Julia looked to her left at Jin's sleeping form; he was sleeping peacefully next to her. _'Let no one separate you. You belong together.'_ Jun Kazama's words echoed through her mind. She smiled as she leaned over and lightly kissed Jin's bottom lip. Julia slowly turned to get out of the bed. She wanted to get dressed and sneak down to the gym to get in one more practice session before her match with Hwoarang later that day. She carefully and quietly stepped out of bed. As she slid on her favorite blue jean miniskirt, she peeked over at Jin. He was still sleeping as peacefully as ever, and Julia seized the opportunity to grab her room key as she tiptoed to the door.

_**(Scene Three- In the gym)**_

Julia hit the punching bag with a powerful right uppercut. As she listened to the smack of her gloved knuckles hitting the bag, her mind began to drift back to the events that occurred the previous night. An involuntary smile danced on her full lips as she recalled what had transpired between Jin and herself. Her tantalizing thoughts screeched to an sudden stop as she also recalled the dream that had shaken her awake. _'What should I do? I want to be with him, but at what cost?'_ Julia said internally. She began unleashing an angrier act on the punching bags as her mind analyzed her situation. '_There has to be some way out of this. But how?' _Julia's internal anguish began to become apparent through her every movement. She hit the punching bag with such force that she managed to knock it off of the hook that it was hanging from. As Julia dropped to one knee to pick up the fallen punching bag, she heard the door creak as it opened.

"JULIA! I'm sooo glad that I found you! It's almost time for the first match to begin!" squealed a familiar high-pitched voice. Julia smiled as she looked over her shoulder to see Ling Xiaoyu bouncing over to her.

"I know, Xiao. I was just finishing up in here." responded Julia as she stood up.

"Are you excited for your match with Hwoarang?" Xiaoyu asked as they began walking out of the gym.

"You could say that." Julia answered with a sly grin. _'Excited is an understatement. I can't wait to knock him out_.' she thought as they exited the hotel.

_**(Scene Four- In the arena)**_

Julia and Xiaoyu entered the arena just as Jin was finishing up his match with Yoshimitsu. Jin delivered a fatal kick that sent Yoshimitsu spiraling to the ground. Yoshimitsu lay face down, and he appeared to be unable to continue fighting.

"Winner: Jin Kazama! Get ready for the next battle. Julia Chang versus Hwoarang." the announcer called out in a clear voice. Julia parted ways with Xiaoyu and began walking to the center of the arena.

"Good luck, Julia! Make Hwoarang wish that he was never born!" called Xiaoyu as she took her seat.

As Julia walked toward the center of the arena, the audience erupted in a loud roar. She looked to her left and noticed Jin Kazama taking his seat. Her heart suddenly felt that it had grown wings. She turned to look in front of her, and she observed Hwoarang strutting toward her.

"I promise that I won't be too hard on you. Unless you like it rough." he sneered as he ran his fingers through his fire-orange hair.

"Shut up or I will shut you up." said Julia acerbically as she slid into her fighting stance.

"Ooh, you have some fire in you. Don't worry, I have a special cream that can help you with that." said Hwoarang as he got into his own fighting stance. Julia narrowed her eyes as the announcer's voice sounded loudly over the endless roar of the audience.

"Julia Chang versus Hwoarang. FIGHT!" the announcer said as a bell dinged. Hwoarang raced towards Julia a little too quickly. Julia greeted him with an elbow to his ribs. Hwoarang took a step backward and kicked Julia in her shoulder. She countered with a kick that flipped Hwoarang over and made him land flat on his back. Before he could get up, Julia hit him with an uppercut that sent Hwoarang airborne. The cheers from the audience were deafening, and Julia found her eyes involuntarily shifting over to Jin. Jin appeared to be on the edge of his seat, and his attention was totally focused on Julia. Julia was staring at Jin only for a few moments, but she unknowingly handed Hwoarang an opportunity to charge at her. He headbutted her so hard that she flew backward and landed on her back. Julia internally cursed herself for making such an novice mistake, but the damage was done. Hwoarang suddenly had the advantage in the fight. Julia struggled to get back on her feet, but Hwoarang kept her down with a sharp kick to her stomach. As she looked up at Hwoarang, his evil grin grew wider.

"I told you that Kazama wouldn't be here to protect you in the ring. Now I have you right where I want you." Hwoarang said as he bent down and let his fingers travel down Julia's cleavage. Suddenly Julia felt her anger ignite within her. She twisted her body and gave Hwoarang a well-deserved kick to the head. Hwoarang staggered for a moment and then Julia hit him in the chest with her twin arrow move. Hwoarang grimaced in pain, but then he swung a leg toward Julia. She neatly dodged him and hit him with an elbow followed by a forceful uppercut. As he tried to charge at Julia once more, she stopped him with a bow and arrow kick. Hwoarang landed on his back with an echoing thud. Julia began to relax as several seconds passed and Hwoarang made no attempt to get back up.

"Winner: Julia Chang! Next up: Ling Xiaoyu versus Nina Williams." the announcer called. As Julia began walking back toward her seat, her legs suddenly could not support her. She hadn't realized that her match with Hwoarang had taken a toll on her body. Julia struggled to stand once again, but her knees shook and buckled. Just as she was about to start crawling back to her seat, the ground suddenly disappeared from under her. Jin Kazama had hopped up on the stage and scooped Julia up into his arms. Julia suddenly felt very embarrassed as she noticed that everyone in the arena was watching her and Jin.

"You can put me down. I can walk now." she said as she tried to get out of Jin's iron grip.

"I don't think so." Jin said as his hands tightened around Julia's body.

"Jin, put me down." Julia said sternly as Jin was passing through the arena's exit. Jin rolled his dark brown eyes as he continued walking to the parking lot. He took his car keys out of his pocket and pushed a button to open the car door. Julia scowled as he placed her in the passenger seat.

"You don't have to do this. I can walk back to my hotel room." she said in an annoyed tone.

"Put your seatbelt on, I'm not taking you back to the hotel." Jin answered in a voice full of authority as he put the keys in the ignition. Julia looked at Jin with a shocked expression.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Julia suspiciously.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" he asked as he shifted the car in reverse to leave the arena's parking lot. Julia looked down at her hands, embarrassed once again. It wasn't that she did not trust Jin. She couldn't shake Jun Kazama's ominous warning from her mind. As much as she wanted to be with Jin, Julia realized that it would not be possible.

_**(Scene Five- Jin's house)**_

Jin glanced over at Julia. She had been silent ever since he had accused her of not trusting him. They both remained silent for the reminder of the car ride. Julia stared out the window and watched the passing scenery. Finally, the car turned onto a familiar, secluded road. Jin parked his car in his garage and exited the car in one swift motion. He walked over to Julia's side and held open the door for her. Julia told her legs to move, but they would not obey her. Stubbornly, she grabbed her leg and swung it out of the car. Jin sighed as he picked Julia up for the second time that day.

"If you need help, you should learn to ask for it." Jin said as he closed the car door with his leg. Jin carried Julia all the way to back of the house, where the lake was located. He set Julia down next to the lake, and began to remove his clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked with an astonished look on her face.

"This lake has very warm water, and it does wonders for sore muscles." said Jin as he began wading through the water. Julia watched as he dove under the water. She looked at the lake and tested it with one finger. Jin was right, it was very warm. Warm and inviting. She looked up as he surfaced from underwater.

"Do you want to join me?" he asked with a seductive smile. Julia scoffed as she slid off her boots. She took off her top and miniskirt, but she left on her bra and panties. As she took her first step into the lake, she began to relax immediately. Julia closed her eyes as she sunk down into the warm water. When she came back to the surface, her fatigue had melted away.

"Feeling better?" asked Jin as he swam over to her.

"Much better." said Julia without opening her eyes.

"Do you want to explain to me why you left the hotel room this morning and didn't bother to tell me anything?" Jin asked suddenly. Julia opened her eyes as wide as they would go as she tried to think of how to answer Jin's question.

"I guess I should have expected that from you. When I woke up and realized that you weren't there, I concluded that you were the 'love them and leave them' type." Jin admitted. Julia's expression turned from shock to annoyance.

"I did not leave you. I just went to practice in the gym before my match with Hwoarang." Julia said as she averted Jin's questioning gaze. She didn't want him to see that she was hiding something from him.

"Oh, so last night meant nothing to you." Jin accused.

"That's not what I said." Julia said as she waded back to the shallow end of the lake.

"I get the feeling that you are hiding something from me." Jin added as he followed Julia to the shallow area. Julia sat on an embankment, looking away from Jin.

"I am growing tired of your games. First, you hate me, then you give me a chance, then you hate me again. I had hoped that you would have stopped playing games after what happened last night, but I guess that I was wrong." Jin said angrily.

"What do you want from me?" Julia said with irritability rising in her voice.

"I want you to tell me how you feel about me." Jin said as if he was confessing some humilating weakness. Julia turned to look at Jin, and all of her anger and annoyance faded. As she stared into his chocolate brown eyes, she felt an overwhelming urge to kiss him.

"You want me to tell you how I feel about you? Fine. I love you, and I'm sorry that I tried to push you away. I just wanted to focus on the tournament, so that's why I tried to fight my feelings for you. The truth is, it's not so easy to ignore someone when they are in your every thought." Julia said as she fought against the sudden rush of emotion that she felt.

"That's all I needed to hear." Jin said as he pulled Julia closer to him to place his lips on hers.

**_(Scene Six- In the bedroom)_**

As they lay in bed, Jin let his fingers make a trail down the bare skin of Julia's back. Julia smiled back at Jin, and suddenly felt very happy. _'I could get used to this.'_ she thought to herself as she rolled onto her back. He moved closer to her, and began kissing her neck and collarbone. Julia smiled wider and a sigh of satisfaction escaped her lips. She felt so in love, and that nothing could ruin this moment. Just then, Julia heard her cell phone ring. As she moved to answer her phone, Jin pulled her back down to the bed.

"Where are you going? I wasn't finished with you yet." he said playfully as he tried to make her lay back down.

"I know, but it could be important." Julia said as she tried to suppress her laughter. She quickly grabbed her phone right before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?" Julia said breathlessly.

"Julia! It's Xiaoyu!" said her friend's voice on the other end.

"Hey Xiao, what's up?" Julia asked politely.

"Nothing, its just that I lost to Nina Williams and I've been eliminated from the tournament." admitted Xiaoyu.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Xiaoyu." said Julia sympathetically.

"No worries, I'll just train harder for next year. But I just wanted to let you know that I will stay to cheer for you at your next match." said Xiaoyu with excitement.

"Okay, I'll let you know when it will be. I wonder who I will fight." added Julia.

"Oh, you don't know? You will be fighting against Jin tomorrow." said Xiaoyu quietly. Julia looked back toward the bed with a horrified expression on her face.

"Xiao, I'll have to call you back later." she said as she hung up the phone. Julia approached the bed with her head hung low.

"Well, what did Xiaoyu say? Who will you fight tomorrow?" Jin asked expectantly. Julia looked at her lover with her face full of anguish.

"You. I have to fight against you." she said in a solemn tone.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for the reviews! I always appreciate opinions and input =) I made this chapter a bit longer since there are only a few more chapters left =D Next Chapter PREVIEW: Jin and Julia reluctantly face each other in the ring. Will they be able to put their true feelings aside and fight to their best capabilities? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	17. Chapter 17: Coldblooded Betrayal

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns everything related to Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Seventeen- Coldblooded Betrayal**

_**(Scene One- In the bedroom)**_

Jin stared at Julia, unsure of what to say next. Julia looked down at her hands as she sat on the corner of the bed. Several minutes passed as both of them seemed to grow more and more anxious.

"Well, I'm going back to my hotel room." said Julia breaking the awkward silence as she stood up from the bed.

"You don't have to leave." Jin said defiantly.

"Yes, I do. I need some time to process this new turn of events." Julia said without looking at Jin as she slipped her clothes back on.

"But..." Jin protested.

"Trust me, this is for the best." she said as she turned to walk out of the bedroom.

"Hold on. I'll take you back to the hotel." Jin said as he jumped up from the bed and started getting dressed.

_**(Scene Two- At the hotel)**_

The car ride back to the hotel was as silent as a tomb. Julia stared straight ahead, watching the traffic outside of the windshield. She looked sideways at Jin, and noticed that he also seemed uncomfortable. As they pulled up to the hotel, Julia began unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Well, thanks for the ride." she said as she opened the car door.

"Julia, wait!" Jin called after her but she had already dashed inside the hotel. _'This is silly. Why is this bothering me so much?' _she thought to herself as she walked through the lobby. She contemplated going to her room, but she knew that Jin most likely would stop by. Instead, she headed over to the gym to hide out until she knew what to say to Jin. As Julia walked to the gym, she felt her mind full of questions. _'I want to win this tournament, but will I be able to fight against Jin? What if I lose the match? What if I lose Jin?' _she thought as she opened the door to the room that was filled with punching bags. Julia suddenly drew strength from hitting the hanging punching bags again and again. She practiced her signature moves repeatedly until her mind became clearer. Julia suddenly felt very calmer as she proceeded to leave the punching bag room. She pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and dialed Jin.

"Hello?" Jin said in a sleepy voice.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Julia asked quickly.

"Sort of. I was just resting. What's up?" he said as he shook himself awake.

"I need to talk to you. I wanted to apologize about acting so distant earlier." she pressed.

"Alright. I'm still at the hotel. In Room 1004, on the tenth floor. Come on up." he said with a smile as he hung up the phone. Julia slid her phone back in her pocket as she exited the gym, and began walking back to the hotel lobby.

Jin was reclining on the bed when he heard a knock on the door. He hopped off the bed, and hurriedly yanked the door open. His attractive smile faded halfway as he realized that Julia was not on the other side of the door. Ling Xiaoyu stood outside his room with a pout playing on her lips.

"Well, you don't look very happy to see me." she said with her pout still in place.

"Sorry, Xiaoyu. I was just expecting someone else." he admitted.

"Ah, I see. Were you expecting a certain Ms. Chang?" Xiaoyu scoffed as she slid past Jin to enter his room. As she walked past Jin, she let her fingers graze against the bare, solid skin of his chest. Jin took an involuntary step backward.

"Possibly. Look Xiao, I'm in the middle of something. Can this wait until later?" Jin said as he ran his hand through his dark hair.

"This will only take a minute of your time." she said as she sat down on Jin's bed. Jin shrugged and sat in a desk chair across from Xiaoyu.

"Okay. What is it?" he said suddenly feeling tense.

"I noticed that you and Julia are becoming very close. I just wanted to ask you if you were happy with her." Xiaoyu said as she leaned closer to Jin to allow him to see her cleavage that was amplified in her low-cut dress.

"I would rather not discuss personal matters with you, Xiao." he said as he began staring intently at his black drawstring pants.

"I have a confession to make. I'm-I'm in love with you, Jin. I never realized it until I saw how you were with Julia. I want to be with you. Choose me, not Julia." Xiaoyu blurted out all at once. Jin looked at her with a horrified expression.

"Xiao, I am sorry, but I don't see you as anything more than a friend." he said uneasily.

"But Jin...I love you. I've always loved you. I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else, be with me." Xiaoyu pleaded as she lounged for Jin's knees. Jin stood up suddenly, bolted to the door, and pulled it open.

"Xiaoyu, I think that you need to leave now." Jin said as he pointed to the door. Xiaoyu stood up, looking defeated. As she passed next to Jin to walk out the door, she paused.

"I love you, and I'm not giving up easily." she said as she threw her arms around Jin's neck and pulled him toward her. Jin wasn't anticipating this, and before he knew what was happening, he suddenly found Xiaoyu's lips crashing against his. As he was about to pry Xiaoyu's lips from his, Jin heard an sharp gasp. Jin turned to see Julia standing in the hallway with her face frozen in a mask of sheer shock. Jin looked to see Xiaoyu turning towards Julia with a smug smile of satisfaction dancing on her lips.

"Julia, I can explain. Its not what it looks like." Jin started to say but he grimaced at how cliché his words sounded. Julia said nothing. As she turned to walk back to the elevators, Jin caught her elbow.

"Please Julia. You know that I would not do anything to hurt you. Please believe me." Jin pleaded.

"I don't know what hurts worse. The fact that I just caught you cheating on me, or that it was with my best friend." Julia said as she tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to stream out of her eyes.

"Julia, its not like that. I only want to be with you. I love you." Jin begged as Julia angrily pushed him away.

"Liar! How dare you say that to me! You lied about loving me. Every kiss, every touch, nothing but lies!" Julia yelled with her fury escalating. Julia walked briskly inside the elevator and departed the hallway. Jin stared at the closed elevators as if he could not believe the events that had just occurred. Just then, he felt a pair of slender arms encircling his waist.

"Don't worry, Jin. Its better this way. Now we can be together." Xiaoyu said in a silky voice as she pressed her smooth lips into the bare skin of his back. Jin roughly broke her hold on his waist and whirled around to face her.

"There is no 'we.' You and I will never be together. I love Julia. Understand?" he barked angrily as he pushed past her to go back to his room.

"But Jin, we need to be together. Plus, Julia won't forgive you for this. It looks like my plan was successful." Xiaoyu added with a sly smile. Jin stopped abruptly and turned to look at Xiaoyu with a expression that was a mix of anger and shock.

"What do you mean 'your plan?' You planned for Julia to see you kissing me?" Jin questioned.

"Yes, I wanted to make sure that she would see us kissing, so that she wouldn't want you anymore. Now I can have you all to myself." Xiaoyu said as she tried to wrap her arms around Jin's neck.

"Well, your plan backfired. Leave me alone." Jin said as he pushed out of Xiaoyu's arms and started to walk back inside his room.

"You and I are meant to be together. I dream about being with you every night." she said as she walked after him.

"Maybe you should stop dreaming and wake up." Jin said as he closed the door in Xiaoyu's face.

_**(Scene Three- In the arena)**_

The massive audience roared in excitement as the two fighters made their way to the center of the arena. Julia looked over at Jin, without letting her face divulge her true feelings. She put her mangled heart aside and walked to the center of the ring, with fierce determination. Jin stared at her with a weary expression. He knew that she was very angry with him, but she was not letting her emotions surface.

"Julia, why haven't you returned my calls? I was trying to explain what really happened." Jin began.

"Save it, Kazama." Julia said in a catatonic voice. Just then, the announcer's voice sounded over the endless roar of the audience.

"Julia Chang versus Jin Kazama. FIGHT!" the announcer called out loudly. Julia started running towards Jin to unleash her first attack. Jin barely had time to slip into his defensive stance before Julia's long legs came spiraling toward him. Jin suddenly found himself struggling to block Julia's aggressive attacks. She moved with such fury that everyone in the audience could feel it. Jin did not want to fight against Julia, but he felt that he had no choice.

"Why won't...you give me...a chance to...explain?" Jin panted as he continued dodging Julia's attacks.

"Why should I give you a chance? There is nothing to explain; I saw everything. You really want to be with Xiaoyu." Julia said through clenched teeth.

"I don't want her. I want you." Jin said as he stood still momentarily. Julia took the opportunity to hit Jin in the stomach with her elbow. As Jin staggered backward, he noticed that the timer for their match was quickly running out. Julia hit Jin again, this time with a bow and arrow kick. Julia moved closer to Jin to strike him again, but their match was suddenly interrupted by a loud bell dinging. Suddenly, the announcer came back on the sound system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this match has gone over the allotted time. Since both fighters are still standing, they are both disqualified." Loud jeers filled the arena as the audience expressed their disappointment. Julia suddenly jumped out of the ring and stormed off, leaving Jin standing alone in the middle of all the chaos.

Author's Note: Thanks soooo much for all the reviews! I always appreciate when anyone takes the time to write a little something =) I especially appreciate helpful comments on fixing proofreading errors (Thanx Toxic City!) Next chapter PREVIEW: The last chapter of the story! YAY! Julia and Jin have both been eliminated from the tournament. It's time for Julia to go home to Arizona, will Jin get to the airport before she leaves? Will Julia ever give Jin a chance to tell her the truth? Stay tuned...

XOXO,

Nina


	18. Chapter 18: Defining Moments

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Tekken or any of its characters. Namco owns all things Tekken. This is a work of fiction.

**Chapter Eighteen- Defining Moments**

_**(Scene One- In the hotel lobby)**_

"Is there anything else that I can do for you, Ms. Chang?" asked the hotel receptionist with a friendly smile.

"Yes, can you call a cab to take me to the airport?" Julia asked as she looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one was watching her check out of the hotel.

"That will not be necessary. There is a limo outside waiting to take you to the airport. Competitors in the tournament are given one last limo ride to the airport. Thank you for staying with us, and we hope to see you again soon." added the receptionist politely. Julia nodded to her and started towing her luggage toward the exit.

"Let me gave you a hand with those, Ms. Chang." said the waiting limo driver as he rushed to take her bags. Julia muttered a low thanks, and looked back at the hotel. There was a part of her that was sad to leave, but she had no choice since she had been eliminated in the tournament. Plus, the whole fiasco with Jin had her wanting to flee Japan as quickly as possible.

"So, you are leaving. How unfortunate." said a familar female voice from behind Julia. Julia didn't have to turn around to know that it was Xiaoyu. Julia's blood began to boil as soon as she turned to face her. Xiaoyu was standing next to the limo with a smug smile on her face.

"You have a lot of nerve talking to me, Xiaoyu. What do you want?" Julia said as she struggled to maintain her composure.

"I just wanted to wish you a good trip, and to thank you for leaving Jin to me. You are a good friend." Julia's former friend sneered.

"I never would have expected you, of all people, to betray me like this. You are no friend of mine." Julia said with narrowed eyes.

"What can I say? The heart wants, what the heart wants." shrugged Xiaoyu nonchalantly.

"You may want Jin, but I know that he doesn't want you. It's tragic, but amusing that you have to keep lying to yourself." said Julia with a laugh. Xiaoyu suddenly looked embarrassed as she struggled to come up with another comment to say.

"Jin wants to be with me. He just won't admit it yet." Xiaoyu said defiantly.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." taunted Julia as she got into the limo. As the limo started driving away, Xiaoyu smiled to herself.

"I will be with Jin, one way or another." she said with determination. Xiaoyu suddenly was struck with an alarming thought._ 'Once Jin finds out that Julia is going to the airport, he may try to stop her. I cannot allow him to win her back.' _she realized internally. All at once, Xiaoyu began formulating a plan to keep Jin from going after Julia. A sinister smile slowly spread across her lips as she walked back inside the hotel to talk to the receptionist.

"Excuse me, do you happen to have a letter opener that I could borrow?" Xiaoyu asked the receptionist in the sweetest voice that she could muster. The receptionist looked at Xiaoyu and nodded.

"Yes, but please bring it back." said the receptionist as she handed Xiaoyu a filigree letter opener with a modestly sharpened blade. Xiaoyu smiled as she accepted the letter opener. She walked through the lobby and out through a side exit. Xiaoyu blinked her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the parking garage. She started scanning the rows of cars, keeping her eyes peeled for the car that she was looking for. Finally, she located Jin's jet black BMW M3. As she walked around to the back of the car, she looked around to make sure that no one was in the garage with her. Xiaoyu quietly dropped to her knees, next to the back tire on the passenger side. She studied the tire, and ultimately found a weak spot. Xiaoyu grabbed the letter opener, and jabbed it as hard as she could into the tire. She slowly pulled the letter opener out of the tire, and her sinister smile made a comeback as she heard the low hiss of air escaping from the tire.

"Oops, it looks like Jin won't make it to the airport in time. So long, Julia." giggled Xiaoyu as she stood up to leave the garage.

_**(Scene Two- Inside the hotel)**_

Jin entered an elevator, and pressed the button to go to the ninth floor. He paced inside the elevator as he waited for it to arrive on Julia's floor. _'What I am I going to say to her? I have to keep trying to tell her the truth.' _he thought nervously. His took a deep breath as the elevator doors opened to the ninth floor. As he walked along the hallway, he noticed that the door to Julia's room was wide open. He quickly peeked inside the room, and found a maid changing the sheets. The maid looked startled to see Jin standing in the doorway.

"Where is the woman that was staying in this room?" he asked as he looked around the room and noticed that all of Julia's belongings were gone.

"I don't know." answered the maid in a nervous tone. Jin raced back to the elevator, and pressed the button to go down to the ground floor. He bolted out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened to the lobby.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Kazama. What can I do for you?" asked the receptionist as he approached the desk.

"Do you know where I can find Julia Chang?" he asked rapidly.

"Um...well, she already checked out and was on her way to the airport." the receptionist answered while anxiously chewing on her bottom lip.

"How long ago did she leave?" Jin asked as he stared at the clock behind the receptionist.

"About twenty minutes ago." the receptionist said as she watched Jin take off running toward the garage. Jin flung the garage door open as quickly as he could. He dashed to his car and retrieved the keys from his pocket. He threw open the car door and jammed the keys into the ignition. The engine roared to life, he roughly threw the car into gear, and pressed down the accelerator. He soon noticed that the car felt sluggish, and he heard an all too familiar flopping noise outside. He parked the car, and ran around to the back of the car to find that he had a flat tire. Jin ran his hands through his hair in anguish. He took off running back inside the hotel, praying that he would get to the airport before it was too late.

_**(Scene Three- At the airport)**_

Julia was sitting alone in the airport waiting for her plane to begin boarding. She was next to a window watching the busy people loading and unloading the planes down below. A sudden peal of laughter drew her attention back inside the airport. She observed a couple holding hands and laughing together about some private joke. As the man finished laughing, he suddenly kissed the woman on her full lips. Julia felt the urge to look away, so that this couple could have a moment alone together. As she stared down at her brown boots, she started to remember how it felt when Jin's lips kissed hers. An overwhelming sense of sorrow washed over her as she found herself unable to stop the two silent tears that rolled down her face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first boarding call for Flight Number 218, nonstop to the USA." a member of the airport personnel announced. Julia quickly wiped the evidence of her internal grief off of her face as she stood up from her seat. She grabbed her messenger bag and got in line to board the plane. As Julia relinquished her boarding pass to a flight attendant, she was unaware that Jin was just outside of the airport.

"Thank you, I can walk from here." said Jin as he threw some money at the driver and jumped out of the cab. He ran inside of the airport, and quickly examined his surroundings to locate a flight departure and arrival schedule. Jin spotted the flight schedules on wall that was on the opposite side of the lobby. He dashed between travelers and meandered through luggage when he finally stood in front of the screens. As Jin was studying the flight departure schedule, he came across a flight that was heading to the United States. Then it dawned on him that this flight was the only one going to the States at this time. _'Flight 218, departing from Gate M. That has to be Julia's flight.' _he thought as he ran in the direction of Gate M.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen: this is the final boarding call for Flight 218, nonstop to the USA." a voice called out over the airport's sound system. As he listened to the announcement, Jin pushed himself faster and faster as he continued racing to Gate M.

Meanwhile, Julia was making herself comfortable inside the plane. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest. Suddenly, she found herself thinking about Jin. Julia forced her mind to think of something else, anything else. Julia then realized that her thoughts always seemed to lead back to him. She quickly pulled her ipod out of her carry-on bag, and was instantly thankful that she had brought it with her since she did not want to be alone with her thoughts. Soon the hypnotic beat of the techno song that she was listening to was the only thing that she was thinking about. Julia was listening so intently to her ipod that she didn't notice the flight attendant that was trying to get her attention. Julia felt a tap on her shoulder, and she quickly opened her eyes to see the flight attendant waving at her.

"Yes?" Julia said with an annoyed tone. The flight attendant said something in rapid Japanese, and Julia did not know what she was saying.

"I don't understand you." Julia said with her arms folded.

"She wants you to put your electronic device away, so that the plane can start going." said another passenger curtly. Julia scoffed and put her ipod back into her bag. _'So much for forcing Jin out of my thoughts with music.' _she thought irritably. She pulled her cowboy hat over her eyes to block out the light, so that she could take a nap instead. Julia soon discovered that her dreams where like a movie with Jin cast as the leading actor.

Back inside the airport, Jin finally found the gate for Julia's flight. He spotted some flight attendants closing the door that led to the plane.

"Please, you have to let me get inside that plane." he said to an male attendant.

"That is not possible, this flight is in the process of departure." answered the attendant sternly.

"You have to stop this flight. The woman that I love is on that plane." Jin pleaded.

"Sir, you are too late. That plane is approaching the runway." said the attendant as he pointed outside the window. Jin watched as the plane lifted off the ground and disappeared into the horizon. He hung his head in despair as he realized that all of his efforts to get to the airport before Julia left were in vain.

_**(Scene Four- Julia's home in Arizona)**_

"Are we going to talk about this?" Michelle asked as Julia slumped on her bed.

"Talk about what?" asked Julia even though she knew that the question was rhetorical.

"About your stay in Japan. There is a reason that you don't want to discuss it." Michelle answered as she sat down on Julia's bed. Julia sat up straight and shrugged. She couldn't talk about the tournament without thinking about Jin, and thinking about him made the hole in her heart ache without mercy.

"I'm just tired, and I'm feeling the effects of jetlag. Can we talk about this in the morning?" said Julia as she stood up from the bed.

"Okay, get some rest. Just know, that I'm looking forward to hearing everything about the tournament tomorrow." said Michelle as she hugged Julia goodnight. Julia started getting ready for bed as soon as Michelle left her room. Julia lay in her bed, wondering what Jin was doing at that moment. As she rolled over to go to sleep, she never would have imagined that Jin was actually on a plane bound for the States at that very moment.

Julia awoke the next morning to the sound of Michelle making breakfast in the kitchen. Julia rose reluctantly from her bed, and began getting dressed for the day. She was putting a pair of low rise skinny jeans when she decided that she should continue to dodge Michelle's questions for awhile longer. Julia was still trying to adjust herself to the idea of not seeing Jin again, and she didn't want to have a moment of weakness in front of Michelle. Julia slid on a cerulean cropped halter top and put her hair into a long thick braid.

"Breakfast!" Michelle called from the kitchen.

"Be right there." Julia answered as she pulled on her signature cowboy boots. Julia entered the kitchen to find Michelle eating some buttered toast while reading a newspaper.

"Good morning." said Michelle happily. Julia managed a small smile that failed in comparison to Michelle's sunny demeanor.

"I need find some time to go pick up a package from the post office this morning. What are your plans for today?" Michelle said congenially.

"I could go for you. In fact, I'll go right now." said Julia as she started for the door.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Michelle asked with her eyebrows raised.

"I'm not very hungry right now. I'll eat when I get back." said Julia as she grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter.

"Alright. Be careful." Michelle called out as Julia exited out the front door.

Michelle began doing her household chores after Julia's departure. As she was washing the morning dishes, she heard a knock at the door of her ranch-style home.

"I wonder who that is. It's too soon for Julia to be back from the post office." Michelle wondered aloud. The person standing outside of her door was one that she did not recognize.

"Can I help you?" she asked suspiciously with the door still closed.

"I'm looking for Julia Chang." a deep male voice vibrated through the door. Michelle opened the door to find a tall, dark-haired man standing on her porch.

"And what do you want with Julia Chang?" Michelle asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"That is personal." he answered swiftly.

"Well, unless you can come up with a better reason than that, you won't be seeing her." said Michelle curtly as she began to close the door.

"Please, I need to see Julia. I have traveled a very long way just to talk to her." said Jin as he kept the door open with his hand.

"Who are you?" asked Michelle as she was beginning to get annoyed with this unknown visitor.

"My name is Jin Kazama." he stated.

"Kazama? Are you, by any chance, related to Jun Kazama?" Michelle said with her eyes opening wider.

"Yes. She is my mother." answered Jin solemnly.

"Your mother was my friend. I miss her." said Michelle with a melancholy note in her voice. Jin answered with a reverent silence.

"Julia is out running an errand, but you are welcome to wait inside for her." said Michelle as she opened the door wider for Jin to enter the house. Jin bowed his head respectfully as he entered the home.

"How do you and Julia know each other?" Michelle asked as she motioned for Jin to sit down on a couch that was opposite her.

"We competed in the tournament together." Jin answered as he sat down.

"I see. You wouldn't happen to know why Julia refused to tell me anything about her time in Japan, would you? I know that something is bothering her, but she won't say what it is." asked Michelle pensively. Jin suddenly appeared uneasy, and Michelle began to pick up on his distress.

"Well, Julia should be along any minute. Then you can say what you need to say to her." Michelle said as she stood up. Suddenly, there was the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway.

"Speak of the devil." said Michelle as she walked toward the door. There was a loud slam outside from Julia shutting the car door with her hip as she carried a large, awkward box in her arms. The box was so large that Julia's body was covered from view from the stomach up. Jin stood up as Michelle opened the door for Julia to pass through.

"This box is huge! What did you order?" exclaimed Julia as she passed through the doorway. Julia's vision was obstructed by the box, so she hadn't noticed that there was a guest in her home.

"Julia, we have a visitor." said Michelle as if she did not know how Julia would react.

"Oh? Who is it?" asked Julia as she turned to place the box in the corner.

"Hello, Julia." said a familiar deep voice. Julia instantly recognized Jin's voice, and she was so startled by his unexpected visit that the box slipped out of her hands and hit the floor with a thud.

"What are you doing here?" Julia said as blood suddenly rushed to her face.

"I need to talk to you." Jin said simply.

"I have nothing to say to you." said Julia with her tenacity showing.

"Why don't you show Jin around the place? That should give you sometime to hear him out." interrupted Michelle.

"Oh, so you are on a first name basis with him now? I don't want to talk to him." Julia whispered into Michelle's ear.

"He came all the way from Japan just for you, and the least you could do is listen to him for a few minutes." insisted Michelle as she nudged Julia toward the door.

"Alright. Follow me." said Julia as she rolled her eyes and walked out the front door. Jin followed closely behind Julia, and nodded politely to Michelle as they exited the house. Michelle smiled sympathetically as she closed the door.

"Good luck, boy. You are going to need it." she said while shaking her head as she watched them walk along the dirt trail that led away from the house.

"You have a beautiful home." said Jin nervously. Julia remained silent and the only sound that filled the air around them was the sound of their footsteps on the dirt gravel trail.

"If I knew that Arizona was so beautiful, I would have visited long ago." said Jin as he struggled to make conversation.

"Okay, Jin. You can stop trying to make small talk with me. Just say what you came here to say, and then go home." Julia said as she stopped walking to face Jin.

"I want to tell you what really happened that day at the hotel when everything fell apart." Jin started to say.

"You are wasting my time, Jin. Stop stalling and spit it out already." snapped Julia as she folded her arms across her chest. Jin took a deep breath and proceeded to give Julia the complete rundown of everything that occurred that infamous day at the hotel.

"So if I'm understanding all of this correctly, you were just an innocent pawn caught in Xiaoyu's trap?" said Julia skeptically. Jin nodded and glanced at Julia through his dark eyelashes. He wanted so desperately to kiss her, but instead he pushed away his desires and kept his distance. As Julia was processing everything that Jin had just told her, she led him to quiet area away from the dirt trail. Julia sat down on a fallen log, but she remained silent. Jin continued standing, but he was becoming impatient. Finally he decided that he could not take the silence anymore.

"Will you say something already!" he said in exasperation. Julia looked up at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" she said with her anger piping up.

"I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry that I gave Xiaoyu an opportunity set me up to make you hate me. I just came to Arizona hoping that you would believe me when I say that I want to be with you more than anything in this world." Jin said with every trace of sincerity that he possessed. Julia looked at him, and for once in her life, she was truly speechless. Jin suddenly dropped to his knees so that his eyes could be on the same level as Julia's. Julia turned her head to look away from him, but he gently stroked her jawline with the back of his hand. Julia stubbornly refused to look at Jin, and she kept her gaze fixed on the grass.

"I know that I hurt you badly and if you cannot forgive me, I understand. Just know that my love for you is permanent and unchangeable. You are one and only owner of my heart." he said softly. Julia turned to look at Jin, and she looked as if she was fighting back tears.

"I do love you. I tried to stop loving you, but I never even got close." Julia admitted in a rush. Jin smiled as he stood up and pulled Julia to her feet.

"Can we go back to the way things were before all of this?" Julia asked expectantly.

"I thought you would never ask." said Jin as he put his arms around her waist and drew her closer for a kiss.

Author's Note: At last! Part One is finished. Woo-hoo! Thanks to everyone for your reviews and comments. I always appreciate everyone's opinion. Part Two of this story will be up soon. Until next time!

XOXO,

Nina


End file.
